discipline
Americannoun
-
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
-
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.
-
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)
-
disciplines,
present (3rd person singular)
-
disciplined,
past participle, past
-
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
-
the state of improved behaviour, etc, resulting from such training or conditions
-
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
-
disciplinernoun
-
multidisciplinenoun
-
predisciplinenoun
-
subdisciplinenoun
-
overdisciplineverb
-
redisciplineverb (used with object)
-
disciplinableadjective
-
disciplinaladjective
-
nondiscipliningadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
disciplinesimple
-
disciplinessimple
-
have disciplinedperfect
-
has disciplinedperfect
-
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 3
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
"OpenAI will pay the lease," Nvidia wrote in a blog post on Monday, and continued that the deal was made with "the same discipline we apply to supply-chain management."
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
This discipline underpinned earnings growth despite revenue falling over the 12 months through December, but the analysts point to weak growth in postpaid subscribers and a creep in capital expenditure as reasons for caution.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
The university also hired a new provost and new deans and reformed its discipline policies to make them “more consistent, fair and effective,” Garber has said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
But Healey has said he will oversee "strong fiscal discipline" – which will limit how much the government has to spend.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
No-nonsense nuns ruled classrooms with an iron hand, passing on to the youngest girls and boys the discipline and knowledge they would need to get ahead in a prejudiced world.
From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield
Sonders: Probably a lack of some of the traditional disciplines.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
"There's growing interest across medical disciplines in manipulating the human microbiome or using its metabolic products themselves for therapy," said Rabinowitz.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026
Former British champion Alcott raced in all five disciplines - downhill, super G, giant slalom, slalom and combined - during a successful career on the slopes.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Whereas those disciplines often use cutting-edge methodologies, sociology seems dusty and theory-laden.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
Alchemy and chemistry were both experimental disciplines, but the alchemist and the chemist had different forms of life and belonged to different types of community.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
The first Israeli soldiers who came to the site prayed with the settlers – an act for which the Israeli military said they would be disciplined.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Some critics said the report failed to answer basic questions, such as how many less-lethal rounds were fired or how many officers were disciplined for misconduct.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
While the fund can be aggressive in making changes when called upon to do so, it’s also disciplined in following its quantitative process to select stocks, buy and sell them, and allocate its portfolio weighting.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
“All you had to do was just be disciplined around production.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
In the Adams formulation, aristocracies were to society as the passions were to the individual personality, permanent fixtures susceptible to disciplined containment and artful channeling, but never altogether removable.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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
But, he adds, there is a "spectrum" of schools, with some incorporating psychotherapy for students and training for parents, or disciplining staff who carry out corporal punishment.
From BBC ● Dec. 11, 2025
This could include disciplining teachers who use antisemitic slurs or stereotypes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2025
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
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.
