indoctrinate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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
-
to teach or inculcate.
-
to imbue with learning.
verb
-
to teach (a person or group of people) systematically to accept doctrines, esp uncritically
-
rare to impart learning to; instruct
Other Word Forms
- indoctrination noun
- indoctrinator noun
- reindoctrinate verb (used with object)
Etymology
Origin of indoctrinate
First recorded in 1620–30; in- 2 + Medieval Latin doctrīnātus, past participle of doctrīnāre “to teach”; 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
1984
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Grade 11, List 2
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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
“The purpose is not to indoctrinate them or guide them in some kind of political philosophy. … The story is so much more complex than simply White people versus Black people,” Higginbotham said.
From Washington Post • Dec. 2, 2022
Do they think we want to indoctrinate kids?
From Slate • Oct. 28, 2022
Thus much I have a right to bind thee to, that thou indoctrinate not her in thine own heresies.
From Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 3, No. 15, August, 1851 by Various
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.
