doctrinaire
/ˌdɑk.tɹɪˈnɛɹ/noun, adjective
doctrinaire is spelled D-O-C-T-R-I-N-A-I-R-E: 11 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 10 million words in written English, the 94,827th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, doctrinaire means “A person who stubbornly holds to a philosophy or opinion regardless of its feasibility” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of doctrinaire is doctrinaires.
How many letters and syllables are in doctrinaire?
| Letters | 11: D-O-C-T-R-I-N-A-I-R-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 10 million words; the 94,827th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is doctrinaire?
Doctrinaire appears about once in every 10 million words in written English, the 94,827th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce doctrinaire?
- UK /ˌdɒk.tɹɪˈnɛə̯/
- US /ˌdɑk.tɹɪˈnɛɹ/
- Australia /ˌdɔk.tɹɪ.neː/
Doctrinaire has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-doctrinaire.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with doctrinaire?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as doctrinaire from its last stressed vowel (/ɛɹ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of doctrinaire
- doctrinaires plural
- more doctrinaire comparative
- most doctrinaire superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does doctrinaire mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A person who stubbornly holds to a philosophy or opinion regardless of its feasibility.
- 2
In France, in 1815–30, a faction that advocated a constitution modeled on that of Britain.
adjective
- 1
Stubbornly holding on to an idea without concern for practicalities or reality.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Doctrinaire in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Prinzipienreiter, Doktrinär , prinzipienreiterisch, doktrinär |
| French | doctrinaire |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does doctrinaire come from?
Borrowed from French doctrinaire, from doctrine + -aire.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).