indoctrinate
Americanverb (used with object)
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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
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to teach or inculcate.
-
to imbue with learning.
verb
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to teach (a person or group of people) systematically to accept doctrines, esp uncritically
-
rare to impart learning to; instruct
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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indoctrinatesimple
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indoctrinatessimple
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have indoctrinatedperfect
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has indoctrinatedperfect
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am indoctrinatingprogressive
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are indoctrinatingprogressive
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is indoctrinatingprogressive
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have been indoctrinatingperfect progressive
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has been indoctrinatingperfect progressive
Past
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indoctrinatedsimple
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had indoctrinatedperfect
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was indoctrinatingprogressive
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were indoctrinatingprogressive
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had been indoctrinatingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing indoctrinate
Grade 11, List 2
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1984
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Shout
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Smartphones are now part and parcel of the way North Korea tries to indoctrinate people", says Mr Williams.
From BBC • May 30, 2025
In the film, Gosling’s Ken — Barbie’s anxiety-ridden, try-hard, beta-status boyfriend — is revitalized by the patriarchy of the real world and returns to indoctrinate everyone in Barbieland.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 28, 2023
Now he’s emerged as a particularly vocal Muslim advocate against what he calls an attempt to indoctrinate children.
From Slate • Jun. 16, 2023
Packer added that questions posed revealed a lack of understanding about the topics at hand, such as whether the course would indoctrinate students into “Black Panther thinking.”
From Washington Post • Feb. 9, 2023
He made it convenient sometimes to pause to indoctrinate Faith in characters or customs of which she had no adequate knowledge; it did not hurt her pleasure; it was all part of the play.
From Say and Seal, Volume II by Warner, Susan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
