dogmatic

adjective

dog·​mat·​ic dȯg-ˈma-tik How to pronounce dogmatic (audio)
däg-
variants or less commonly dogmatical
1
: characterized by or given to the expression of opinions very strongly or positively as if they were facts
a dogmatic critic
2
: of or relating to dogma (see dogma)
dogmatically adverb
dogmaticalness noun
Choose the Right Synonym for dogmatic

dictatorial, magisterial, dogmatic, doctrinaire, oracular mean imposing one's will or opinions on others.

dictatorial stresses autocratic, high-handed methods and a domineering manner.

exercised dictatorial control over the office

magisterial stresses assumption or use of prerogatives appropriate to a magistrate or schoolmaster in forcing acceptance of one's opinions.

the magisterial tone of his pronouncements

dogmatic implies being unduly and offensively positive in laying down principles and expressing opinions.

dogmatic about what is art and what is not

doctrinaire implies a disposition to follow abstract theories in framing laws or policies affecting people.

a doctrinaire approach to improving the economy

oracular implies the manner of one who delivers opinions in cryptic phrases or with pompous dogmatism.

a designer who is the oracular voice of fashion

Examples of dogmatic in a Sentence

What we are being treated to, clearly, is an extended set of variations on that most ancient of all intellectual chestnuts, the infinite capacity of the professorial mind for the dogmatic and ludicrous misinterpretation of evidence regarding past civilizations. Peter Green, New Republic, 20 Mar. 2000
The New York Times, dogmatic as always, claimed that "facts and reason, the authority of all dictionaries, and the support of every chronologer and historian that ever lived, to say nothing of the invariable understanding and custom of all lands and ages" underlay its choice of 1901. It spoke dismissively of "the delusion that there is a controversy as to when the twentieth century begins," even as the controversy dragged on in its pages for a year and a half. Frederic D. Schwarz, American Heritage, December 1999
After absorbing one magazine's strict injunctions on such topics as the number of saucepans to register for and which varieties of flowers hold up best in bouquets, I would move on to another mag, only to find an equal number of equally dogmatic assertions, delivered with equal certainty and often in complete contradiction with the first set. Ruth Halikman, New Republic, 18 Oct. 1999
She's become so dogmatic lately that arguing with her is pointless. a critic's dogmatic insistence that abstract expressionism is the only school of 20th century art worthy of serious study
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
All of them are on journeys of discovery, on pilgrimages to purity, simplicity, or humility, understood not in dogmatic terms but in the living experience of human fragmentation and wholeness, suffering and redemption, pride and love. Ben Woollard, JSTOR Daily, 4 Dec. 2024 Deschamps has never been tactically dogmatic yet is struggling to find attacking balance. Liam Tharme, The Athletic, 3 July 2024 On the other, the Italian’s dogmatic approach meant that Leicester did come unstuck on a few occasions — which almost derailed a title charge that looked to be in the bag earlier in the season. Mark Carey, The Athletic, 11 Aug. 2024 Leigh Silverman directs a rigorously unspectacular production, with an almost dogmatic refusal to add any Broadway razzle. Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for dogmatic 

Word History

Etymology

see dogma

First Known Use

1681, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of dogmatic was in 1681

Dictionary Entries Near dogmatic

Cite this Entry

“Dogmatic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dogmatic. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

dogmatic

adjective
dog·​mat·​ic dȯg-ˈmat-ik How to pronounce dogmatic (audio)
däg-
1
: expressing opinions very strongly or positively as if they were facts
2
: of or relating to dogma
dogmatically adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on dogmatic

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