- past tense form of discipline.
- past participle of discipline.
disciplined
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of disciplined
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; discipline + -ed 2
Explanation
People who are disciplined are either rule-followers or they are controlled and efficient. A disciplined runner who's training for a marathon has a regular, daily exercise routine. Your disciplined puppy might be the star of her obedience class, the very best at "sit" and "stay." And your cousin who speaks six languages is also disciplined — she studies, reads, and practices speaking for hours every day. Disciplined comes from the noun discipline, which has come to mean "punishment," but is rooted in the Latin word disciplina, "teaching or knowledge," and also "military discipline."
Vocabulary lists containing disciplined
Ghost
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"La Vida Robot" and "Reading, Writing and... Recreation"
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From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
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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.
“We continued to grow assets under management, loans and deposits, while maintaining disciplined cost and capital management,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
“Our performance is being driven by robust cloud data-center demand and disciplined execution, and we see the momentum continuing in 2027,” Seagate CEO Dave Mosley said in a statement.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
"Belgium has outstanding players and enormous potential. Together with my coaching staff, we want to build a team that is disciplined, ambitious and brave enough to compete with the very best."
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
And he stayed disciplined as Nola tried to get him to chase a fastball up and two breaking balls in the dirt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
The Santos, contenders for the division championship, were well coached, disciplined, and quick.
From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John
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.
