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

In an undated statement included in the OIG report, Mallett stood by the department's disciplinary process. —Nushrat Rahman, Freep.com, 6 Jan. 2026

The incident was first made public last month when Davis released a 14-page disciplinary memo explaining her decision to indefinitely suspend Spees, who had worked for the department for 11 years. —Austin Sanders, Austin American Statesman, 6 Jan. 2026

The report mentioned Herdman, which led to the disciplinary committee hearing. —Ali Rampling, New York Times, 3 Jan. 2026

The order threatened to subject city employees to disciplinary proceedings if they are found violating that restriction. —Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 2 Jan. 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