discipline
Americannoun
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disciplines
plural
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training to act in accordance with rules; drill.
military discipline.
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an activity, exercise, or regimen that develops or improves a skill; training.
Sticking to specific and regular mealtimes is excellent discipline for many dieters.
-
a branch of instruction or learning.
the disciplines of history and economics.
-
punishment inflicted by way of correction and training.
- Synonyms:
- castigation, chastisement
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the rigor or training effect of experience, adversity, etc..
the harsh discipline of poverty.
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behavior in accord with rules of conduct; behavior and order maintained by training and control.
good discipline in an army.
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a set or system of rules and regulations.
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Ecclesiastical. the system of government regulating the practice of a church as distinguished from its doctrine.
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an instrument of punishment, especially a whip or scourge, used in the practice of self-mortification or as an instrument of chastisement in certain religious communities.
verb (used with object)
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disciplines,
present (3rd person singular)
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disciplined,
past participle, past
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disciplining
present participle
noun
-
training or conditions imposed for the improvement of physical powers, self-control, etc
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systematic training in obedience to regulations and authority
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the state of improved behaviour, etc, resulting from such training or conditions
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punishment or chastisement
-
a system of rules for behaviour, methods of practice, etc
-
a branch of learning or instruction
-
the laws governing members of a Church
-
a scourge of knotted cords
verb
-
to improve or attempt to improve the behaviour, orderliness, etc, of by training, conditions, or rules
-
to punish or correct
Synonym Usage
See punish.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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disciplinernoun
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multidisciplinenoun
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predisciplinenoun
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subdisciplinenoun
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overdisciplineverb
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redisciplineverb (used with object)
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disciplinableadjective
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disciplinaladjective
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nondiscipliningadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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disciplinesimple
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disciplinessimple
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have disciplinedperfect
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has disciplinedperfect
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am discipliningprogressive
-
are discipliningprogressive
-
is discipliningprogressive
-
have been discipliningperfect progressive
-
has been discipliningperfect progressive
Past
-
disciplinedsimple
-
had disciplinedperfect
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was discipliningprogressive
-
were discipliningprogressive
-
had been discipliningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of discipline
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin disciplīna “instruction, tuition,” equivalent to discipul(us) “pupil, learner, trainee” + -ina noun suffix; see origin at disciple; see -ine 2
Explanation
When you have discipline, you have self-control. When you discipline children, you are either teaching them to be well-behaved, or you are punishing and correcting them. The origins of this word offer great clues about its current meanings. The Old French descepline referred to punishment and suffering. The Latin disciplina meant "teaching, learning." The Old English version referred to a branch of knowledge or field of study (so if you're really good at word origins, you might want to make etymology your discipline). Developing discipline as a form of training is a military concept that's more than 500 years old.
Vocabulary lists containing discipline
The Outsiders
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“Procedural discipline was a big part of what we want to make sure that we’re constantly talking about,” Chesney said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
Arabic texts as far back as the 15th century codified the discipline of navigation, though ship captains sailed the reefs from memory, using poems rather than maps to recall notable landmarks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
So all you’re missing tax-wise is discipline and patience.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
The versatile player, renowned for his tactical discipline and ability to feature across midfield, returned to SC Villa in 2023 for a second spell, becoming one of the club's longest-serving players.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
This discipline is of such efficacy that not only does it maintain those who were born princes, but it enables men of private station on many occasions to rise to that position.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
The Claimants' conduct of this litigation wholly disregarded these key disciplines.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
At ZOS, Goin estimates some disciplines have been reduced to a quarter of what they were before.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
The difficulty, then, is not to choose between supposedly solid disciplines and supposedly fragile ones.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 7, 2026
Armed with this infusion of activity across various disciplines, the couple is inspired to continue to shake their way out of the past.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
Countless amateur thinkers took a crack at the problem, as did anthropologists and archaeologists when those disciplines were invented.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
She is smart and disciplined and leads in early polling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
A selfless, tactically disciplined forward who links phases and presses intelligently.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
Ortiz testified that he was not disciplined after the shooting, that he did not receive additional training as a result of the incident, nor did his job duties change.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Chief Executive Faisal Al-Faqeer said Sabic’s strong balance sheet and disciplined approach to capital allocation would help it remain resilient amid geopolitical uncertainty, supply disruptions and elevated energy prices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Normally I was fairly disciplined about keeping it close to my body to try to disguise my limp.
From "Ugly" by Robert Hoge
The solicitors firm added that the ambulance trust was "not formally disciplining" staff but had "strengthened their HR process for future incidents".
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
The IMF, the one body charged with disciplining imbalances, has no means to do so.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
Rate hikes aimed at disciplining speculation can do more than cool the room.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 4, 2026
“By arresting Villarreal, rather than solely disciplining the employee for any wrongdoing, county officials took this ‘everyday journalism’ and transformed it ‘into a crime,’ ” she wrote.
From Slate ● Mar. 26, 2026
We all supported his efforts to improve the diet and the treatment of students, including his suggestion that students be responsible for disciplining themselves.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
