Combining multiple option flags to doctest.testmod(optionflags=...) requires the bitwise or operator |, not plain "or". I therefore suggest rewording "or-ing together individual option flags." to "or-ing together individual option flags, using the 'bitwise or' operator |.", perhaps with a link to http://docs.python.org/reference/expressions.html#binary-bitwise-operations.

Example:

"""
Doctest option flags must be or-ed together with '|', not 'or'.

>>> print "A  B  C"
A B...
"""
import doctest

print "Combining option flags using bitwise '|'..."
doctest.testmod(optionflags=doctest.NORMALIZE_WHITESPACE | doctest.ELLIPSIS)
print "Combining option flags using logical 'or'..."
doctest.testmod(optionflags=doctest.NORMALIZE_WHITESPACE or doctest.ELLIPSIS)

I think adding the word 'bitwise' in front of "or'ed" and linking it to that section would be sufficient.

As a non-native speaker, I found constructs such as “OR-ed” or “syncing” a bit non-obvious when I started reading docs.  +1 on adding “bitwise”, +1 on changing to “combined with the | operator”.  (Yes, this is an or-ed vote.)

The basic fix is to replace the fake verb 'to or', conjugated not really properly as "or's" or "or'ing", with the real noun 'bitwise-or'.

help(doctest.testmod)
...
    Optional keyword arg "optionflags" or's together module constants,
    and defaults to 0.  This is new in 2.3.  Possible values (see the
    docs for details):

Eliminate 'this is new...' here and above. Suggested replacement:

    Optional keyword arg "optionflags" (default 0) is the bitwise-or
    of the following module constants (see the docs for details):

help(doctest.testfile)
...
    Optional keyword arg "optionflags" or's together module constants,
    and defaults to 0.  Possible values (see the docs for details):

Same replacement (whatever we decide on).

Lib 25.2.4. Basic API
doctest.testfile entry:
...
Optional argument optionflags or’s together option flags. See section Option Flags and Directives.

->
Optional argument optionflags is the bitwise-or of options flags. See section Option Flags and Directives.

doctest.testmode entry refers back to above.

25.2.3.5. Option Flags and Directives

doctest.COMPARISON_FLAGS 
A bitmask or’ing together all the comparison flags above.
doctest.REPORTING_FLAGS 
A bitmask or’ing together all the reporting flags above.

A bitmask that is the bitwise-or of all the comparison flags above.
ditto with 'reporting' instead.

-or-
A bitmask -- the bitwise-or of ...

I think this is all. Searching on "or'" does not work because sphinx nicely replaces "'" with a non-ascii unicode char ;-).

I found “bitwise OR-ed” in library/fcntl.rst library/functions.rst library/os.rst library/winsound.rst (using grep, not Sphinx :)

I like bitwise-or better than bitwise OR because 'bitwise-or' is a distinct operation from 'or', and making it hyphenated emphasizes that.

I grepped for 's together' and found two instances of "or's together" in the docs which I reworded to use bitwise-or instead, in the attached patch.

New changeset 1439619daf42 by Georg Brandl in branch '3.4':
Closes #12148: clarify "or's together option flags" in doctest docs.
https://hg.python.org/cpython/rev/1439619daf42