Indoctrinate means "brainwash" to many people, but its meaning isn't always so negative. When the verb first appeared in English in the 17th century, it simply meant "to teach"—a meaning linked closely to its source, the Latin verb docēre, which also means "to teach." (Other offspring of docēre include docile, doctor, document, and, of course, doctrine). By the 19th century, indoctrinate was being used in the sense of teaching someone to fully accept only the ideas, opinions, and beliefs of a particular group.
The goal should be to teach politics, rather than to indoctrinate students in a narrow set of political beliefs. indoctrinated children in proper safety procedures
Recent Examples on the WebParents are rightly upset when schools indoctrinate their kids with woke racial and gender ideologies that do not reflect their values and contradict the ideals that make our republic great. James Freeman, WSJ, 8 Sep. 2022 In the last six months, the Kremlin has ramped up its efforts to indoctrinate young Russians to support the war and government. Yvonne Lau, Fortune, 6 Sep. 2022 The effort to indoctrinate students in progressive, anti-American ideologies that pervades our universities is also ravaging K–12 education. Kenin M. Spivak, National Review, 3 July 2022 One glaring aspect of this overreach is the government education establishment's efforts to indoctrinate children and circumvent parental authority.Baltimore Sun, 17 May 2022 Some politicians and activists of late have made accusations that teaching about race and inclusion in school is divisive, or a way to indoctrinate students. Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 19 May 2022 Supporters argued that the bill is needed to prevent classrooms from being used to indoctrinate children. From Usa Today Network And Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 21 Apr. 2022 Some conservative groups claim critical race theory and social emotional learning are used to indoctrinate students. Jay Croft, CNN, 22 Apr. 2022 This type of story, that Disney is a woke company used by the liberal Hollywood elite to indoctrinate children with radical gender theories, feeds right into that broad theory and reinforces it. Oliver Darcy, CNN, 30 Mar. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
probably from Middle English endoctrinen, from Anglo-French endoctriner, from en- + doctrine doctrine