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 disobedient or defiant behavior

took disciplinary action

2

: of or relating to a particular field of study

academic disciplinary specialization

disciplinarily

ˌdi-sə-plə-ˈner-ə-lē 

adverb

disciplinarity

ˌdi-sə-plə-ˈner-ə-tē 

noun

Synonyms of disciplinary

• 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

More recently, he was reportedly involved in the disciplinary process of Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas after a now-infamous play involving her and Fever guard Caitlin Clark. — Annie Costabile, New York Times, 24 July 2026

The probe’s findings were presented to LAPD leadership, who recommended that Cancino be fired and sent to a disciplinary hearing. — Los Angeles Times, 24 July 2026

The judge also referred Alejandro Brito, a Coral Gables attorney who also represented Trump in the case, to the Florida Bar for potential disciplinary action. — Austin Horn july 24, Miami Herald, 24 July 2026

This led to a state audit in 2018 that concluded the system took much longer to address complaints against faculty than staff, imposed inconsistent disciplinary action on repeat offenders, and often exceeded investigation timeframes. — Tarini Mehta, Sacbee.com, 23 July 2026

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