indoctrinate
verb
Did you know?
Indoctrinate means "brainwash" to many people, but its meaning isn't always so negative. When the verb first appeared in English in the 17th century, it simply meant "to teach"—a meaning linked closely to its source, the Latin verb docēre, which also means "to teach." (Other offspring of docēre include docile, doctor, document, and, of course, doctrine). By the 19th century, indoctrinate was being used in the sense of teaching someone to fully accept only the ideas, opinions, and beliefs of a particular group.
Examples of indoctrinate in a Sentence
Mackenzie Sigalos, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2024
For Putin, the specter of Nazis has provided a way to indoctrinate the nation, to insist that Ukraine has no right to exist.
—Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2022
The extremists that followed Bob Mathews were indoctrinated via a book titled The Turner Diaries, which was first published in 1978.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 10 Sep. 2024
State of play: I have been indoctrinated into the world of Boat Tram.
—Claire Reilly, Axios, 5 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for indoctrinate 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'indoctrinate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Indoctrinate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/indoctrinate. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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indoctrinate
verb
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