Teaching someone to accept beliefs without questioning them, especially beliefs of a political, religious, or ideological nature.
From 'indoctrinate,' which comes from Latin 'in-' (into) and 'doctrina' (teaching). The word emerged in English in the 17th century, initially neutral, but gradually acquired negative connotations implying brainwashing or unethical teaching during the 20th century.
During the Cold War, 'indoctrination' became a heavily used term in propaganda about both communist and capitalist education systems—each side accused the other of indoctrinating youth! Neuroscience now shows that all learning involves some degree of accepting information before fully understanding it, making the line between education and indoctrination surprisingly blurry.
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