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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
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
-
had indoctrinatedperfect
-
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.
See Examples For:
"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
Not content with simply holding this opinion, the task these gentlemen set themselves was, to indoctrinate the Governments of the several countries in which they were located with the same views of the case.
From The Cruise of the Alabama and the Sumter by Semmes, Raphael
"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
No one indoctrinates when he is under observation.
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 Yonge, Charlotte Mary
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
"If I was born in another household where my parents were poor, couldn't afford my education, I could have also become easily radicalised and indoctrinated by the Taliban," he says.
From BBC ● Apr. 16, 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
Was it simply expected that he would become indoctrinated into the blinding passion of the Mojo mystique just like everyone else?
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
“It’s in charge of indoctrinating the kids,” said Hanan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 24, 2025
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
So whether the team rips off the proverbial Band-Aid by immediately indoctrinating Beniers in his envisioned future role will say plenty about this season’s goals.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 21, 2022
He wanted no trouble—they had spent a year with him on Earth, indoctrinating that.
From Earthsmith by Marlowe, Stephen
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.
