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

Woodward filed the department’s May 13 lawsuit seeking to nullify disciplinary proceedings against former DOJ official and Trump ally Jeffrey Clark. — Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 29 Sep. 2026

In a September 21 statement, Cornell declined to confirm the individual disciplinary outcomes, citing federal student privacy law. — Gloria Pazmino, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2026

The lawsuit claims that some of them were able to write essays to the school to reduce their disciplinary action, according to her attorney. — Payton Turkeltaub, Variety, 28 Sep. 2026

Biggs herself has characterized the disciplinary action against her as retaliation for speaking out against CPS practices. — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 28 Sep. 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