disciplinary

adjective

dis·​ci·​plin·​ary ˈdi-sə-plə-ˌner-ē 

 especially British  ˌdi-sə-ˈpli-nə-rē

1

a

: of or relating to discipline

disciplinary problems

b

: designed to correct or punish breaches of discipline

took disciplinary action

2

: of or relating to a particular field of study

disciplinary specialization

disciplinarily

ˌdi-sə-plə-ˈner-ə-lē 

adverb

disciplinarity

ˌdi-sə-plə-ˈner-ə-tē 

noun

Synonyms

• punitive
• correctional

Examples of disciplinary in a Sentence

The committee is considering disciplinary measures against him.

called for disciplinary actions in response to the outrageous behavior

Recent Examples on the Web

This political distribution is reflected in demographic and disciplinary differences. —Matthew Mayhew, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025

Aside from graffiti, some individuals have also made social media posts celebrating Kirk's demise, triggering a backlash and sometimes disciplinary action from employers. —Kate Plummer, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Sep. 2025

The move means American Airlines is the second airline to take such disciplinary action in the wake of Kirk’s death earlier this week. —Zach Lachance, The Washington Examiner, 13 Sep. 2025

Nelson also called out the board's past disciplinary action on Dakar's license. —Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 11 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Medieval Latin disciplīnārius, from Latin disciplīna "teaching, discipline entry 1" + -ārius -ary entry 2

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for disciplinary

• accretionary
• apothecary
• bicentenary
• certiorari
• concessionary
• concretionary
• confectionary
• confectionery
• constabulary
• contemporary
• deflationary
• depositary

Kids Definition

disciplinary

adjective

dis·​ci·​plin·​ary ˈdis-ə-plə-ˌner-ē 

: of or relating to discipline : corrective

take disciplinary action