undisciplined
Britishadjective
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.
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.
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
“His mind was, from what I could see, largely undisciplined, which is how he could make these connections so unexpectedly and usefully, but not always usefully,” Crocker said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026
Scattered and undisciplined, it’s never clear which way he will go.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2025
How irresponsible I was, disrespectful I was—how ungrateful, self-sabotaging, undisciplined, unruly, and lazy.
From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely
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.
