discipline

[dis-uh-plin]

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noun

training to act in accordance with rules; drill: military discipline.
activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill; training: A daily stint at the typewriter is excellent discipline for a writer.
punishment inflicted by way of correction and training.

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.
a branch of instruction or learning: the disciplines of history and economics.

verb (used with object), dis·ci·plined, dis·ci·plin·ing.

to train by instruction and exercise; drill.
to bring to a state of order and obedience by training and control.
to punish or penalize in order to train and control; correct; chastise.

Origin of discipline

1175–1225; Middle English < Anglo-French < Latin disciplīna instruction, tuition, equivalent to discipul(us) disciple + -ina -ine²

Related formsdis·ci·pli·nal

[dis-uh-pluh-nl, -plin-l, dis-uh-plahyn-l] /ˈdɪs ə plə nl, -ˌplɪn l, ˌdɪs əˈplaɪn l/, adjectivedis·ci·plin·er, nounmul·ti·dis·ci·pline, nounnon·dis·ci·plin·ing, adjectiveo·ver·dis·ci·pline, verb, o·ver·dis·ci·plined, o·ver·dis·ci·plin·ing.pre·dis·ci·pline, noun, verb (used with object), pre·dis·ci·plined, pre·dis·ci·plin·ing.re·dis·ci·pline, verb (used with object), re·dis·ci·plined, re·dis·ci·plin·ing.sub·dis·ci·pline, noun

Synonyms for discipline

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3. chastisement, castigation.

Synonym study

12. See punish.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for discipline

control, development, restraint, practice, self-restraint, will, regulation, preparation, self-control, education, method, curriculum, limitation, strictness, indoctrination, willpower, cultivation, curb, drill, conduct

Examples from the Web for discipline

Contemporary Examples of discipline

He is an immensely talented quarterback who has dedicated his entire life to athletic excellence and discipline.
Justin Bieber Isn’t Even 21, Yet Makes More Money Than Meryl Streep
Amy Zimmerman
November 25, 2014
Bullhooks, whippings, and electric shocks were used as the main methods of discipline and training for their exotic animals.
How the Circus Got a Social Conscience
Justin Jones
November 7, 2014
Four, the recruitment by the Republicans of affable-seeming candidates who had some discipline drilled into them.
The Real Reason Democrats Lost
Michael Tomasky
November 6, 2014
People tend to condemn the obese because they believe that “fatness” is evidence of laziness and lack of discipline.
‘The Biggest Loser’ Could Be TV’s Most Important Show Ever
Daniela Drake
September 26, 2014
The discipline required for martial arts fed into the psychology of the character, who approaches everything mission by mission.
Dan Stevens Blows Up ‘Downton’: From Chubby-Cheeked Aristo to Lean, Mean American Psycho
Tim Teeman
September 19, 2014

Historical Examples of discipline

They have asked for discipline and direction under leadership.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
By heredity and discipline all minds are shaped to this great hour.
Ballads of a Bohemian
Robert W. Service
That he killed a mutineer is proof of his resolute adherence to discipline.
Punchinello, Vol. 1, No. 6, May 7, 1870
Various
Their discipline was lax, and many of them had left their posts, and gone off into the town.
Stories from Thucydides
H. L. Havell
The first includes all the force of discipline and training.
The Story of the Malakand Field Force
Sir Winston S. Churchill

British Dictionary definitions for discipline

discipline

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 (tr)

to improve or attempt to improve the behaviour, orderliness, etc, of by training, conditions, or rules
to punish or correct

Derived Formsdisciplinable, adjectivedisciplinal (ˌdɪsɪˈplaɪnəl, ˈdɪsɪˌplɪnəl), adjectivediscipliner, noun

Word Origin for discipline

C13: from Latin disciplīna teaching, from discipulus disciple

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for discipline

early 13c., "penitential chastisement; punishment," from Old French descepline (11c.) "discipline, physical punishment; teaching; suffering; martyrdom," and directly from Latin disciplina "instruction given, teaching, learning, knowledge," also "object of instruction, knowledge, science, military discipline," from discipulus (see disciple (n.)).

Sense of "treatment that corrects or punishes" is from notion of "order necessary for instruction." The Latin word is glossed in Old English by þeodscipe. Meaning "branch of instruction or education" is first recorded late 14c. Meaning "military training" is from late 15c.; that of "orderly conduct as a result of training" is from c.1500.

c.1300; see discipline (n.). Related: Disciplined; disciplines; disciplining.