doctrinal

Definition of doctrinalnext

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 doctrinal What are its doctrinal objectives if not colorblindness? Bruce Fein, Baltimore Sun, 5 Mar. 2026 His rigorist doctrinal chief, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger—the future Benedict XVI—had moved to restrict Gutiérrez and other liberation theologians, leading to a standoff with CELAM, which had a long history with him. Paul Elie, New Yorker, 5 Jan. 2026 Two commissions studying the question of women in the diaconate, keeping discernment alive even without doctrinal change. Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 30 Nov. 2025 Emperor Constantine convened the First Council of Nicaea, bringing bishops from across the Roman Empire to resolve a doctrinal crisis over how to explain Jesus' relation to God. Ruth Sherlock, NPR, 28 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for doctrinal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for doctrinal
Adjective
  • If significantly Greek, then the question becomes how philosophical—and, more specifically, how Platonic—the religion is at its core, with doctrines that can seem mystical and otherworldly.
    Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026
  • But UChicago notes that the disciplines are, in fact, intertwined — and not just in an abstract philosophical sense.
    Adam Harrington, CBS News, 13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • The messaging from China’s Communist government may once have been dogmatic and rigid — not anymore.
    ABC News, ABC News, 10 Apr. 2026
  • 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
Adjective
  • The situation is one of ideological ferment, rather than a reversion to some Romneyite center.
    Amy Davidson Sorkin, New Yorker, 18 Apr. 2026
  • In recent weeks, an unlikely coalition that spans the ideological spectrum stepped up to try to block the merger.
    Elizabeth Robinson, NBC news, 17 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • But as the MoMA show argues, Duchamp also did this as a conceptual strategy, to degrade the value of the original and question what counted as a copy.
    Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 13 Apr. 2026
  • The Del Mar City Council approved the conceptual design for the Major Arterial Medians Improvements Project during its April 7 meeting, as well as a $120,000 task order for final design by MW Peltz and Associates.
    Luke Harold, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • Moreover, according to the researchers, their technique works even when there is no perfect theoretical model of the material, and the sample is not pure (which is often the case in real-world materials).
    Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 11 Apr. 2026
  • This week, that scenario started to feel less theoretical.
    Kevin Collier, NBC news, 11 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • The bishops further authorized a new edition of the Roman Pontifical for pontifical Masses, expected to be completed by 2027, with Vatican approval pending for some rites, according to the Catholic News Agency.
    Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Nov. 2025
  • In its report, the pontifical commission highlights failures in the Italian church.
    Christopher Lamb, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Doctrinal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/doctrinal. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster