indoctrination

American  

[in-dok-truh-ney-shuhn] / ɪnˌdɒk trəˈneɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act of indoctrinating, or teaching or inculcating a doctrine, principle, or ideology, especially one with a specific point of view.

   religious indoctrination.

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Other Word Forms

• reindoctrination noun

Etymology

Origin of indoctrination

indoctrin(ate) + -ation

Explanation

Indoctrination means teaching someone to accept a set of beliefs without questioning them. Your sister's orientation at her new job might seem more like indoctrination if she comes home robotically reciting her corporate employee handbook. Indoctrination often refers to religious ideas, when you're talking about a religious environment that doesn't let you question or criticize those beliefs. The Latin word for "teach," doctrina is the root of indoctrinate, and originally that's just what it meant. By the 1830s it came to mean the act of forcing ideas and opinions on someone who isn't allowed to question them.

Example Sentences

The military had four major departments overseeing operations, arms procurement, logistics and indoctrination, and seven major “military regions,” each operating like independent fiefs.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 28, 2026

The court said: "The family strongly support the provision of religious education provided it does not amount to indoctrination."

From BBC • Nov. 19, 2025

The discomfort may not necessarily seek to compel indoctrination, but it does erase the existence of lives, truths, and histories some would rather forget or disappear.

From Slate • Apr. 23, 2025

Perez also said that playing this spring was advantageous in preparation for his indoctrination to the Chargers, live action in the UFL making him game ready.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 13, 2024

He might be testing me, to see how deep my indoctrination had really gone.

From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood

Related Words

• persuasion