discipline
Americannoun
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disciplines
plural
-
training to act in accordance with rules; drill.
military discipline.
-
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.
-
behavior in accord with rules of conduct; behavior and order maintained by training and control.
good discipline in an army.
-
a set or system of rules and regulations.
-
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
-
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)
-
disciplinableadjective
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disciplinaladjective
-
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
-
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:
Trump calls Wiles the "ice maiden" after the Florida political operative masterminded his 2024 election win, and until recently the first ever female chief had maintained steely discipline at the White House.
From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026
It also found employee discipline records, a worker’s criminal-history report, contractor payroll data, tax forms and passports.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
Experienced officers and noncommissioned officers should teach these skills, set a standard for discipline and require cadets to meet it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
There was still significant investment, but on younger players who could be moulded by his philosophy and discipline while given room to flourish.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
He had never raised a hand to discipline Jude or her sisters, even when they got into big trouble.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
These applications illustrate why the researchers believe their microscope could become a useful tool across numerous scientific disciplines rather than serving only a narrow area of research.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026
“Sometimes,” Mr. Byrne said, “it takes a naive foreigner to appreciate what people who live in a country don’t realize they have”—a sentiment congruent with his advice to think across disciplines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
In quantitative finance, where many of the highest-paying internships are concentrated, experience arguably matters less than in most other disciplines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Athletes finishing fourth to eighth across the 50 disciplines will receive awards of 5,000, 4,000, 3,000, 2,000 and 1,000 euros respectively.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
This diversity of disciplines poses problems for would-be authors of a book aimed at answering Yali’s question.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Bruno Fernandes will remain as Manchester United captain and will not be disciplined for his post-match criticism of Michael Carrick after the 4-1 Champions League defeat by Como.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
Whether more disciplined spending plans for this year mean problems — or warning signs — for the AI trade remains to be seen.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026
Also, the hospital will probably remain disciplined with cost-saving measures which should result in strong margins in 3Q on reduced selling, general, and administrative expenses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
"Our flight test team ran a disciplined, methodical campaign to validate every system," said Chris Payne, general manager for 737 airplane development programs.
From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026
While I told the committee that my colleagues had to be released unconditionally, I said the government could expect disciplined behavior from them after their release.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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
“There is no study out there that I have found that says this is an effective way of disciplining elementary school students,” London said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 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
It didn’t bother her that when Miss Beatty showed up to observe Mom’s class, Mom started yelling at Lori to prove to Miss Beatty that she was capable of disciplining her students.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
