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Synonyms

undisciplined

British  
/ ʌnˈdɪsɪˌplɪnd /

adjective

  1. not exhibiting self-control or good behaviour

"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

Explanation

Undisciplined means uncontrolled or disorderly. An undisciplined bunch of dogs is nearly impossible to walk down the sidewalk together: they all want to run in different directions, chase squirrels, and bark wildly. When you take the word disciplined, "showing control or order," and add un-, or "not," to it, you get undisciplined. This is a great way to describe an out-of-control classroom, an athlete whose explosive anger gets her kicked off the field, or someone who can't manage his own money well, spending an entire paycheck all in one place.

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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:

GM executives blamed the unrest on workers who were undisciplined and immature.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

The agreement inspires "very little confidence" as recent incidents of AI going rogue suggest companies have been undisciplined in their approach, she added.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

Years of undisciplined fiscal policy have doubled the debt-to-GDP ratio over the past two decades to over 100% in the U.S.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

This time it was the notion that Gehry’s work was visually chaotic, not merely unresolved but undisciplined, that was exposed as a severely limited reading of his work.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2025

These young men were untrained and undisciplined and became involved in activities that were unbecoming to a liberation struggle.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

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