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

Derived 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

One well-known study into Nazi-era education found that school-based indoctrination could have long-lasting effects, particularly when reinforced by the wider social environment.

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026

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

For Shipka, it was her true indoctrination into this wild world.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 25, 2026

Everyone has to agree, it's really been drummed into us — and I went to business school, I've been through this indoctrination process — that everyone works for the shareholder.

From Salon • Apr. 26, 2025

In the other we have ordinary men, training, indoctrination, honor, glory, reputation, shame, loyalty, code, and believe in a cause.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Related Words

• persuasion