doctrine

/ˈdɒk.tɹɪn/

//ˈdɒk.tɹɪn// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"doctrine" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“doctrine” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,337. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,337
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A belief or tenet, especially about philosophical or theological matters.

Corpus desk

Index EN-doctrine · doctrine · English

doctrine · rank #7,337 · 12 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,337
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH desperately

Nearest frequency peer: desperately (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “doctrine”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “doctrine” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

doctrine vs doctrines
89% similar
doctrine vs doctrinal
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for doctrine
PropertyValue
Headworddoctrine
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈdɒk.tɹɪn/
Letters8
Frequency rank#7,337
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “doctrine”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).doctrinelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “desperately” (#7,336), “dense” (#7,335), “financially” (#7,339). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “doctrine” is #7,337. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around doctrine (IPA /ˈdɒk.tɹɪn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,337 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for doctrine, with forms such as "dcotrine", "ddoctrine", and "docctrine". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "doctrines", "doctrinal", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin doctrina (“teaching, instruction, learning, knowledge”), from doctor (“a teacher”), from docere (“to teach”); see doctor. The correct English form is doctrine, spelled D-O-C-T-R-I-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A belief or tenet, especially about philosophical or theological matters.
  2. 2
    The body of teachings of an ideology, most often a religion, or of an ideological or religious leader, organization, group, or text.
  3. 3
    A self-imposed policy governing some aspect of a country's foreign relations, especially regarding what sort of behavior it will or will not tolerate from other countries.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how doctrine appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The Incarnation is a basic doctrine of Christianity.
  2. The Four Noble Truths summarise the main doctrines of Buddhism.

Etymology

From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin doctrina (“teaching, instruction, learning, knowledge”), from doctor (“a teacher”), from docere (“to teach”); see doctor.

This word in other languages

doctrina(Español)doctrine(Français)Doktrin(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • dcotrine
  • ddoctrine
  • docctrine
  • docrtine
  • doctirne
  • doctrien
  • doctrinne
  • doctrnie
  • doctrrine
  • docttrine
  • dotcrine
  • odctrine

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of doctrine - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

dcotrine2ddoctrine1docctrine1docrtine2doctirne2doctrien2doctrinne1doctrnie2
Edit distance from "doctrine"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "doctrine"?
"doctrine" is spelled D-O-C-T-R-I-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdɒk.tɹɪn/.
What does "doctrine" mean?
As a noun, "doctrine" means: A belief or tenet, especially about philosophical or theological matters.
What words are commonly confused with "doctrine"?
"doctrine" is commonly confused with "doctrines", "doctrinal". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "doctrine"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "doctrine" is /ˈdɒk.tɹɪn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "doctrine"?
From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin doctrina (“teaching, instruction, learning, knowledge”), from doctor (“a teacher”), from docere (“to teach”); see doctor. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "doctrine", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

freshman#7,340gameplay#7,342hydrogen#7,349Mercedes#7,362

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

mistaken12 variantsNashville12 variantsNebraska12 variantsTroubles12 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list