indoctrinate

American  

[in-dok-truh-neyt] / ɪnˈdɒk trəˌneɪt /

verb (used with object)

• indoctrinates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• indoctrinated,
  past participle,  past
• indoctrinating
  present participle

1. to instruct in a doctrine, principle, ideology, etc., especially to imbue with a specific partisan or biased belief or point of view.

   Synonyms:

   propagandize, brainwash

2. to teach or inculcate.

3. to imbue with learning.

---

indoctrinate British  

/ ɪnˈdɒktrɪˌneɪt /

verb

1. to teach (a person or group of people) systematically to accept doctrines, esp uncritically

2. rare to impart learning to; instruct

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• indoctrination
  noun
• indoctrinator
  noun
• reindoctrinate
  verb (used with object)

Inflected Forms

Participles

• indoctrinating
  present
• indoctrinated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• indoctrinate
  simple
• indoctrinates
  simple
• have indoctrinated
  perfect
• has indoctrinated
  perfect
• am indoctrinating
  progressive
• are indoctrinating
  progressive
• is indoctrinating
  progressive
• have been indoctrinating
  perfect progressive
• has been indoctrinating
  perfect progressive

Past

• indoctrinated
  simple
• had indoctrinated
  perfect
• was indoctrinating
  progressive
• were indoctrinating
  progressive
• had been indoctrinating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will indoctrinate
  simple
• will have indoctrinated
  perfect
• will be indoctrinating
  progressive
• will have been indoctrinating
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of indoctrinate

First recorded in 1620–30; in- ² + Medieval Latin doctrīnātus, past participle of doctrīnāre “to teach”; see doctrine, -ate ¹

Explanation

If you indoctrinate someone, you teach that person a one-sided view of something and ignore or dismiss opinions that don’t agree with your view. Cults, political entities, and even fans of particular sports teams are often said to indoctrinate their followers. If you indoctrinate someone, the goal is to have that person follow a particular set of beliefs (or a doctrine), rather than being able to think independently or know right from wrong. For example, a child may be indoctrinated into a life of violence by growing up in a war-torn region, or a student may be indoctrinated into a life as a Marxist by an influential political science professor.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

indoctrinate indoctrinates indoctrinated indoctrinating

"Smartphones are now part and parcel of the way North Korea tries to indoctrinate people", says Mr Williams.

From BBC ● May 30, 2025

Now he’s emerged as a particularly vocal Muslim advocate against what he calls an attempt to indoctrinate children.

From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2023

Harrison, on the other hand, is “trying to indoctrinate my daughter into Tolkien’s world” despite his wife’s distaste.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 29, 2022

Now 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan has a full week to indoctrinate McCaffrey into an offense that includes receiver/running back Deebo Samuel and tight end George Kittle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2022

But beside these public demonstrations he sought and found access in private to many of the leading statesmen, in the various countries he visited, with a view to indoctrinate them with the same principles.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 5 "Clervaux" to "Cockade" by Various

"That's how manipulative it is - it indoctrinates you."

From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2025

I'm thinking about the jurisprudence that, even more directly if more subtly, has expanded First Amendment protections of the commercial speech that indoctrinates us, 24/7, to embrace narrow, self-interested strategies of "self-improvement" and protection.

From Salon ● May 29, 2022

There is so much literature and culture that indoctrinates all humans, and the disempowered, to repress their justified rage and righteous anger.

From New York Times ● Jan. 17, 2018

Then Farrar "indoctrinates" the staff on how to put the changes into effect.

From Time Magazine Archive

Your fair daughter was but as ever preparing beforehand with me the tasks with which she so kindly indoctrinates her little sisters.

From The Chaplet of Pearls by Charlotte Mary Yonge

Again the U.S. hit a brick wall called Europe and a team of players for whom the World Cup assignment is an indoctrinated dream from Day One.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

Once a viewer is indoctrinated, however, they may find it difficult to refrain from puzzling over its message.

From Salon ● Nov. 26, 2025

“We’re all indoctrinated into thinking that there’s nothing more important than autonomy, but it’s a very mixed blessing,” says Schwartz.

From Slate ● Nov. 2, 2024

I’ve often joked I was the perfect age to be indoctrinated.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2024

At a makeshift training school in New York, agents were indoctrinated in the new regulations and methods.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

The usual assumption is that professors are indoctrinating students, but that’s too simple.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Ultimately, “everyone is capable of indoctrinating themselves at any time.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2024

As comments amass over time, eliciting upvotes and increasingly meta discourse, the recipe starts branching off into infinite variations — some small, some large — perhaps indoctrinating itself into some readers’ regular cooking repertoire.

From Salon ● Dec. 18, 2023

Chaplin’s character ultimately meets a terrible fate for leading on the men and indoctrinating their children with ideas that challenge the family order.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 10, 2023

The great majority of those who took an active part in the movement confined their efforts to indoctrinating the masses with Socialistic and subversive ideas, and sometimes their methods were rather childish.

From Russia by Sir Donald Mackenzie Wallace

Related Words

• imbue
• inculcate
• instill