discipline

[ dis-uh-plin ]

/ ˈdɪs ə plɪn /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR discipline ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Nearby words

discipleship, disciplinable, disciplinant, disciplinarian, disciplinary, discipline, disciplined, discission, discitis, disclaim, disclaimer

Origin of discipline

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

SYNONYMS FOR discipline

3 chastisement, castigation.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR discipline ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

dis·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, adjective

o·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

Synonym study

12. See punish.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

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|DAILY BEAST
The truth is, that we need both the discipline of harness and the abundant nourishment of the free pasture.
The Intellectual Life|=Philip Gilbert Hamerton
It commands with absolute lordship, but it can discipline for disobedience only by slow and formal judicial process.
Congressional Government|Woodrow Wilson
They are cleverer than us and more powerful than us; and we have to submit to their discipline.
Your United States|Arnold Bennett
There was to be a class war, and numbers schooled to discipline by industrial organization were to win.
New Worlds For Old|Herbert George Wells
The condition in which a camp site is left by an organization will clearly indicate the efficiency and discipline in a command.
Military Instructors Manual|James P. Cole and Oliver Schoonmaker

British Dictionary definitions for discipline

discipline

/ (ˈdɪsɪplɪn) /

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 (1 of 2)

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.

Word Origin and History for discipline (1 of 2)

discipline

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

discipline

noun

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

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discipline

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Word Origin and History for discipline (1 of 2)

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discipline

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discipline

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Word Origin and History for discipline (1 of 2)

discipline

Word Origin and History for discipline (1 of 2)

discipline

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British Dictionary definitions for discipline