doctrinal

What it means

1. Of, relating to, involving, belonging to or concerning a doctrine.

   […]yet inevitably, [JD] Vance is already giving menacing doctrinal advice to the pope as part of the multi-theatre fallout of Operation Epic Facepalm.

   2026 April 17, Marina Hyde, “Is the pope Catholic? JD Vance thinks he has an answer”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

   1 more example

   Thus it was not only in the doctrinal field that revisionism called into question the traditional belief in the revolutionary mission of the proletariat: the belief was challenged, perhaps more effectively still, by the success of revisionism as a social phenomenon, which robbed socialism of the glamorous prospect of a 'final battle' for universal liberation.

   1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume II: The Golden Age, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: rozwój (in Polish), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 114

2. obsoleteDidactic.

   The word of God serveth no otherwise than in the nature of a doctrinal instrument.

   [1594], Richard Hooker, edited by J[ohn] S[penser], Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Iohn Windet, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page)

In a sentence

Thus it was not only in the doctrinal field that revisionism called into question the traditional belief in the revolutionary mission of the proletariat: the belief was challenged, perhaps more effectively still, by the success of revisionism as a social phenomenon, which robbed socialism of the glamorous prospect of a 'final battle' for universal liberation.

1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume II: The Golden Age, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: rozwój (in Polish), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 114

Where it comes from

1. Late Latindoctrīnālis
2. Frenchdoctrinal
3. Englishdoctrinal

The noun form was from French doctrinal; the adjective form was perhaps from Late Latin doctrīnālis, from doctrīna.