doctrines

noun

plural of doctrine
1
as in theologies
a statement or body of statements concerning faith or morals proclaimed by a church the Catholic Church's doctrine on the Eucharist

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in ideologies
the basic beliefs or guiding principles of a person or group the doctrine of quantum physicists

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 doctrines As a kid growing up in a religious household, Jean found the strict doctrines of Christianity unconvincing. — Juliet Linderman, Fortune, 16 July 2026 Even Fitz-Gerald’s locker is a callback to his mom’s doctrines. — Spencer Nusbaum, New York Times, 10 July 2026 Assayas’s aesthetic is too genteel to even imagine the specifics of loathsome doctrines. — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 13 May 2026 The democratization of drone warfare complicates traditional counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations, requiring new doctrines, technologies, and legislative frameworks to confront the evolving threat landscape. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 May 2026 If America is to preserve its liberty, conservative legal scholars and judges will need to adjust to a new reality and revisit doctrines that no longer serve to protect the constitutional structure. — Gregg Nunziata, The Atlantic, 27 Apr. 2026 This theology leaves little room for the restraint that characterized earlier security doctrines. — Arie Perliger, The Conversation, 7 Apr. 2026 Two people in the same local assembly may share similar doctrines but be at odds over the efficacy of modern scientific medicine, especially vaccines. — Cory Anderson, STAT, 6 Mar. 2026 Prevailing economic doctrines proved flawed. — Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 1 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for doctrines
  1. theologies
  2. ideologies
  3. dogmas
  4. philosophies
  5. creeds
  6. beliefs
  7. canons
Noun
  • Instead, there are countless influencers, preachers, and personalities who have created niche movements with their own theologies and political alignments.
    — Meghan O’Gieblyn, The New York Review of Books, 11 July 2026
  • But theologies aside, Patmos is also downright breathtaking.
    — Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 23 Mar. 2026
Definition of theologies
Noun
  • It's all set against a years-long backdrop of Americans' bad ratings of the economy, and appears to have many questioning the broader system – or at least eyeing solutions unconstrained by the usual ideologies.
    — Anthony Salvanto, CBS News, 16 Aug. 2026
  • The charities represent a cross section of ideologies and missions — left- and right-leaning, foreign and domestic, media, religious, humanitarian.
    — Ellis Simani, ProPublica, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of ideologies
Noun
  • Far more valuable would be a pivot by the regime’s leadership away from some of the dogmas of its past, and toward reform.
    — Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 18 June 2026
  • The Dogma manifesto contains 10 new dogmas.
    — Zac Ntim, Deadline, 16 May 2026
Definition of dogmas
Noun
  • The Bills — sporting their new-look, attack-style 3-4 defense — attempted to stay as vanilla as possible while executing their core defensive philosophies.
    — Joe Buscaglia, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2026
  • It's published by Sony, a company at the intersection of Western and Japanese philosophies.
    — Jordan Minor, PC Magazine, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of philosophies
Noun
  • In that scene at the end, when the brass band is playing, and everyone’s walking together, all shapes and sizes, colors, creeds, that’s where hope lives.
    — Zac Ntim, Deadline, 6 July 2026
  • Those are job creators by the hundreds, and those jobs will go to workers of all creeds.
    — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 30 May 2026
Definition of creeds
Noun
  • Duffy and Campos-Duffy express hesitations about her potentially attending Harvard due to their Catholic beliefs.
    — Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Such beliefs continue in the 21st century, with certain factions making unproven claims about urine’s purported antiviral actions against the COVID-19–causing coronavirus.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of beliefs
Noun
  • Following the ceremony at City Hall where the NBA champions were given keys to New York City, confetti canons showered the Knicks with paper in the team's colors.
    — Matt Nighswander, NBC news, 18 June 2026
  • As the daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, Hawke has found acting success by bestowing her charms in several high-profile projects such as Stranger Things and Inside Out 2 — or, for advanced studies, recent films in the Quentin Tarantino and Wes Anderson canons.
    — Devon Ivie, Vulture, 18 May 2026
Definition of canons

Browse Nearby Words

doctrine
doctrines
docudrama
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Doctrines.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/doctrines. Accessed 23 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on doctrines

Nglish: Translation of doctrines for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of prowess

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 21

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All