doctrine

Definitions

From Latin doctrīna, 'that which is taught,' built on docēre ('teach'). A doctrine is the body of teaching a group holds and passes on — frozen into an authoritative set of beliefs. The political sense (the 'Monroe Doctrine') extends this: a stated guiding principle that a government teaches and follows.

Why It Means This

Doctrine sits right next to docēre ('teach'): it is literally 'the teaching.' That's why it always implies something handed down and held as authoritative — religious doctrine, legal doctrine, a foreign-policy doctrine. When that teaching is followed too rigidly, you get the related doctrinaire.

Common Collocations

• 1.religious doctrine宗教教义
• 2.political doctrine政治学说
• 3.legal doctrine法律原则
• 4.military doctrine军事方针
• 5.official doctrine官方学说

Example Sentences

• 1.

  The church has held this doctrine for over a thousand years.

• 2.

  Free-market doctrine shaped the country's economic policy.

• 3.

  Under the new military doctrine, the army shifted to a defensive posture.

Easily Confused

doctrine vs dogma vs theory — doctrine is taught principles a group officially holds (and may revise). dogma is doctrine treated as absolute and beyond question — more rigid and often negative. theory is a proposed explanation open to testing. Quick test: if it must be accepted without question → dogma; if it's officially taught but arguable → doctrine.