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
Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 5 Nov. 2024
The adorable animal characters take some of the edge off a game that entails indoctrinating cult members, battling spirits and cannibalism.
—Theara Coleman, theweek, 11 Oct. 2024
Handsome but not very bright, Whitlock is kidnapped by communist screenwriters, who end up indoctrinating him into their cause.
—Will Leitch, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2024
Russia needs soldiers, IT specialists, workers for its military-industrial complex, and an obedient rising generation that has been indoctrinated in the revanchist and simplified history propagated in the new textbooks.
—Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Indoctrinate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/indoctrinate. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
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indoctrinate
verb
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