disciplinary

adjective dis·ci·plin·ary \ ˈdi-sə-plə-ˌner-ē , especially British ˌdi-sə-ˈpli-nə-rē \

Definition of disciplinary

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

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disciplinarily

play \ˌdi-sə-plə-ˈner-ə-lē\ adverb

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disciplinarity

play \-ˈnar-ə-tē\ noun

See disciplinary defined for English-language learners

See disciplinary defined for kids

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 of disciplinary from the Web

Whitehead is suspended for the first three games of the season as part of a disciplinary measure handed down by Narduzzi.

— manny navarro, miamiherald, "Is the ACC the best conference in college football? Breaking down Atlantic and Coastal," 29 Aug. 2017
Boycotting the meeting constitutes ill-discipline and the members will be referred to the ANC Caucus disciplinary committee, Mthembu said in a interview in Cape Town.

— sam mkokeli, Bloomberg.com, "‘No Witch Hunt’ for South Africa's ANC Vote Rebels, Mantashe Says," 15 Aug. 2017
According to disciplinary reports, Hernandez was frequently involved in brawls so intense that guards used pepper spray to break up the hostilities.

— alex french, Esquire, "The Man Who Knows Aaron Hernandez's Secrets," 15 Aug. 2017
This building became an Army disciplinary barracks until 1933.

— kat eschner, Smithsonian, "Alcatraz Wasn’t Always ‘Uncle Sam’s Devil’s Island’," 11 Aug. 2017
A pair of Indiana police officers could face disciplinary action after photos of them sleeping in a local cemetery surfaced on social media Saturday morning.

— The Courier-Journal, "Photos of sleeping officers spark investigation," 5 Aug. 2017
There are constituencies to be heard from, notably the faculty, which at Harvard has a big say in disciplinary matters and on student life in general.

— john sedgwick, vanityfair.com, "What’s Really Behind the Civil War to End Harvard’s Fraternities?," 2 Aug. 2017
The corrections merit board is separate from the police merit board, which has been addressing the disciplinary hearings for officers Guy Mikulich and Nicholas Medrano.

— becky jacobs, Post-Tribune, "Merit board member resigns; sheriff calls Facebook posts 'disgusting'," 2 Aug. 2017
His personnel file shows positive reviews and – aside from a June 21 letter placing him on leave – no disciplinary action.

— hannah sparling, Cincinnati.com, "Drug charges, search warrants in Goshen teacher case," 19 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'disciplinary.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.