DOCTRINAIRE Synonyms: 77 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

doctrinaire 1 of 2

adjective

ˌdäk-trə-ˈner

Definition of doctrinaire next

as in dogmatic

given to or marked by the forceful expression of strongly held opinions a doctrinaire conservative, the columnist takes special delight in baiting liberals

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doctrinaire

2 of 2

noun

as in purist

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in theorist

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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

Examples 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

Ali Hassan Mwinyi, a schoolteacher turned politician who led Tanzania as its second post-independence president and helped dismantle the doctrinaire socialism of his predecessor, Julius K. Nyerere, died on Thursday in Dar es Salaam, the country’s former capital. —

Alan Cowell, New York Times, 29 Feb. 2024 Free Trade Dominic Pino : In Cass’s telling, economists became doctrinaire free-traders, as a class, after World War II. —

Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, 5 Feb. 2024

Noun

Zionism, at least at its most doctrinaire, insists a Jew can achieve total realization as a Jew only by living in Israel. —

Marc Tracy, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2024 Loach, a longtime socialist, more doctrinaire than his English fellow travelers Mike Leigh and Terence Davies, usually makes unabashedly pedantic dramas about working-class issues (Riff-Raff; My Name Is Joe; The Wind That Shakes the Barley; I, Daniel Blake; and Singing the Blues in Red). —

Armond White, National Review, 29 Mar. 2023 See all Example Sentences for doctrinaire

Recent Examples of Synonyms for doctrinaire

Adjective

Leigh Silverman directs a rigorously unspectacular production, with an almost dogmatic refusal to add any Broadway razzle.

Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2024
But the tone of the nascent tech industry in that era was less dogmatic and maximalist.

BYAlexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 25 Sep. 2024