disciplinary

adjective

dis·​ci·​plin·​ary ˈdi-sə-plə-ˌner-ē How to pronounce disciplinary (audio)
 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 adverb
disciplinarity noun

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Sherrill's campaign later contested that the disciplinary file had been sealed and not subject to public disclosure. Marni Rose McFall, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025 The university and Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen later declined to pursue disciplinary or criminal charges against the student journalist. Ryan MacAsero, Mercury News, 23 Oct. 2025 Regarding the lack of disciplinary records documenting policy violations, Payne placed blame on prison staff for failure to write Holt up for disciplinary violations. Arkansas Online, 22 Oct. 2025 Abaraonye received hate and racial abuse after the comments against Kirk came out, which the Oxford Union condemned, but also moved forward with disciplinary proceedings, the BBC reported. Lexi Lonas Cochran, The Hill, 22 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for disciplinary

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of disciplinary was in the 15th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Disciplinary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disciplinary. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

disciplinary

adjective
dis·​ci·​plin·​ary ˈdis-ə-plə-ˌner-ē How to pronounce disciplinary (audio)
: of or relating to discipline : corrective
take disciplinary action

More from Merriam-Webster on disciplinary

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