dogmatic

comparative more dogmatic · superlative most dogmatic · alternative dogmatical

1. human sciencesAdhering only to principles which are true a priori, rather than truths based on evidence or deduction.

   Dogmatic philosophies have sought for tests for truth which might dispense us from appealing to the future. Some direct mark, by noting which we can be protected immediately and absolutely, now and forever, against all mistake—such has been the darling dream of philosophic dogmatists.

   1902, William James, “Lecture I”, in The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature […] , New York, N.Y.; London: Longmans, Green, and Co. […], →OCLC

2. Pertaining to dogmas; doctrinal.
3. Asserting dogmas or beliefs in a superior or arrogant way; opinionated, dictatorial.

   Ms. Allende does little to dramatize her feminist sentiments -- she simply hammers her points home with dogmatic asides, and starkly lighted tableaux of women being abused and taken advantage by men.

   1999 November 2, Michiko Kakutani, “Books of The Times: A Single Girl Takes On the California Frontier”, in The New York Times (E section), New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 7

plural dogmatics · alternative dogmatical

1. One of an ancient sect of physicians who went by general principles; opposed to the empiric.