doctrinaire 1 of 2

Definition of doctrinairenext

doctrinaire

2 of 2

noun

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective doctrinaire contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of doctrinaire are dictatorial, dogmatic, magisterial, and oracular. While all these words mean "imposing one's will or opinions on others," doctrinaire implies a disposition to follow abstract theories in framing laws or policies affecting people.

a doctrinaire approach to improving the economy

When can dictatorial be used instead of doctrinaire?

While in some cases nearly identical to doctrinaire, dictatorial stresses autocratic, high-handed methods and a domineering manner.

exercised dictatorial control over the office

In what contexts can dogmatic take the place of doctrinaire?

The meanings of dogmatic and doctrinaire largely overlap; however, dogmatic implies being unduly and offensively positive in laying down principles and expressing opinions.

dogmatic about what is art and what is not

When might magisterial be a better fit than doctrinaire?

The synonyms magisterial and doctrinaire are sometimes interchangeable, but magisterial stresses assumption or use of prerogatives appropriate to a magistrate or schoolmaster in forcing acceptance of one's opinions.

the magisterial tone of his pronouncements

When is oracular a more appropriate choice than doctrinaire?

The words oracular and doctrinaire are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, oracular implies the manner of one who delivers opinions in cryptic phrases or with pompous dogmatism.

a designer who is the oracular voice of fashion

How does the adjective doctrinaire contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of doctrinaire are dictatorial, dogmatic, magisterial, and oracular. While all these words mean "imposing one's will or opinions on others," doctrinaire implies a disposition to follow abstract theories in framing laws or policies affecting people.

a doctrinaire approach to improving the economy

When can dictatorial be used instead of doctrinaire?

While in some cases nearly identical to doctrinaire, dictatorial stresses autocratic, high-handed methods and a domineering manner.

exercised dictatorial control over the office

In what contexts can dogmatic take the place of doctrinaire?

The meanings of dogmatic and doctrinaire largely overlap; however, dogmatic implies being unduly and offensively positive in laying down principles and expressing opinions.

dogmatic about what is art and what is not

When might magisterial be a better fit than doctrinaire?

The synonyms magisterial and doctrinaire are sometimes interchangeable, but magisterial stresses assumption or use of prerogatives appropriate to a magistrate or schoolmaster in forcing acceptance of one's opinions.

the magisterial tone of his pronouncements

When is oracular a more appropriate choice than doctrinaire?

The words oracular and doctrinaire are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, oracular implies the manner of one who delivers opinions in cryptic phrases or with pompous dogmatism.

a designer who is the oracular voice of fashion

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of doctrinaire
Adjective
Even leaving these facts aside, neither the doctrinaire socialism nor militant Islam have ever improved any place on earth, and New York City will not be the first. Newsweek Contributors, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025 Murdoch’s media muscle has been increasingly buttressed by his Wall Street Journal revenues as well as those of the doctrinaire Fox News. Peter Bart, Deadline, 11 Sep. 2025
Noun
Back when Republicans were less doctrinaire, few objected to Ronald Reagan’s legalization through legislation on the status of otherwise law-abiding immigrants who crossed illegally or overstayed. Letters To The Editor, Orlando Sentinel, 7 Aug. 2024 Back when Republicans were less doctrinaire, few objected to Ronald Reagan’s legalization through legislation on the status of otherwise law-abiding immigrants who crossed illegally or overstayed. Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 5 Aug. 2024 See All Example Sentences for doctrinaire
Recent Examples of Synonyms for doctrinaire
Adjective
  • Roher, who won an Oscar for best documentary feature for 2022’s Navalny, is opinionated—not just about the festival moving from Park City to Boulder, but on a whole host of topics.
    John Ross, Vanity Fair, 24 Mar. 2026
  • Cissy’s tiny and opinionated mother, Adelaide, shared the family’s modest apartment for six enlivening years.
    Miranda Seymour, The New York Review of Books, 19 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • There is a new Jaguar logo, which some purists claim to hate, and a move upmarket as well, with the new flagship model likely to start at around $130,000, putting it beyond premium and into the realm of genuine luxury.
    Erik Shilling, Robb Report, 31 Mar. 2026
  • For every cultural good, identity has become fused with the object of interest, turning previously normal people leading unremarkable lives into Steak ’n Shake beef-tallow purists, Harry Potter moralists, or cast-iron-pan-cleaning radicals.
    Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 31 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • The feminist theorist and scholar Tressie McMillan Cottom went even further down the rabbit hole in a Bluesky post yesterday.
    Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 3 Apr. 2026
  • The theorist Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick examined the extent to which jealous imitation drives all manner of same-sex relations, straight and gay.
    Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • For many — especially free-spirited hippies, wooks, and the whole wide jam-band universe — the dogmatic style of traditional programs can be a turnoff, an impediment to accessing a path forward.
    David Manheim, Rolling Stone, 19 Feb. 2026
  • Times of amazing progress, but also worrying backslides to dogmatic tribal ideologies and an extremely uncertain future.
    Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 13 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Are there moments that will make architectural dogmatists cringe?
    Tribune News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Nov. 2025
  • Sly had too generous a spirit to be a dogmatist.
    Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 24 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • Namir Khaliq Learn from the world's biggest thinkers.
    Big Think, Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026
  • Earlier thinkers, most famously Aristotle, had gone so far as to propose that eudaemonia was an inherently communal accomplishment, one that could only take root in the proper social and political context.
    Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • Across the Rockies and beyond, many of our favorite mountains were haunted by unseasonably warm spikes and stubborn weather patterns that shut out snow for weeks on end.
    Kristen Geil, Outside, 31 Mar. 2026
  • For stubborn blockages, a plumber’s snake can help break things loose.
    Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 31 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • Carter, at the time, was a stickler.
    Jack Crosbie, Rolling Stone, 17 Mar. 2026
  • Yes, some sticklers would insist that greatly should never stand between to and excel.
    Jake Lundberg, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Doctrinaire.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/doctrinaire. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.

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