discipline

noun

dis·ci·pline | \ ˈdi-sə-plən

Definition of discipline

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : control gained by enforcing obedience or order

b : orderly or prescribed conduct or pattern of behavior

c : self-control

2 : punishment

3 : training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character

4 : a field of study

5 : a rule or system of rules governing conduct or activity

6 obsolete : instruction

discipline

verb

disciplined; disciplining

Definition of discipline (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to punish or penalize for the sake of enforcing obedience and perfecting moral character

2 : to train or develop by instruction and exercise especially in self-control

3a : to bring (a group) under control discipline troops

b : to impose order upon serious writers discipline and refine their writing styles

Other Words from discipline Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym The Root and Meanings of Discipline More Example Sentences Learn More about discipline

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Choose the Right Synonym for discipline

Verb

punish, chastise, castigate, chasten, discipline, correct mean to inflict a penalty on in requital for wrongdoing. punish implies subjecting to a penalty for wrongdoing. punished for stealing chastise may apply to either the infliction of corporal punishment or to verbal censure or denunciation. chastised his son for neglecting his studies castigate usually implies a severe, typically public censure. an editorial castigating the entire city council chasten suggests any affliction or trial that leaves one humbled or subdued. chastened by a landslide election defeat discipline implies a punishing or chastening in order to bring under control. parents must discipline their children correct implies punishing aimed at reforming an offender. the function of prison is to correct the wrongdoer

teach, instruct, educate, train, discipline, school mean to cause to acquire knowledge or skill. teach applies to any manner of imparting information or skill so that others may learn. taught us a lot about our planet instruct suggests methodical or formal teaching. instructs raw recruits in military drill educate implies development of the mind. more things than formal schooling serve to educate a person train stresses instruction and drill with a specific end in view. trained foreign pilots to operate the new aircraft discipline implies training in habits of order and precision. a disciplined mind school implies training or disciplining especially in what is hard to master. schooled the horse in five gaits

The Root and Meanings of Discipline

Discipline comes from discipulus, the Latin word for pupil, which also provided the source of the word disciple (albeit by way of a Late Latin sense-shift to “a follower of Jesus Christ in his lifetime”). Given that several meanings of discipline deal with study, governing one’s behavior, and instruction, one might assume that the word’s first meaning in English had to do with education. In fact, the earliest known use of discipline appears to be punishment-related; it first was used in the 13th century to refer to chastisement of a religious nature, such as self-flagellation.

Examples of discipline in a Sentence

Noun

Sir Robert Peel is credited with creating the first modern police force, the bobbies, in London, in 1829, but the transformation of law enforcement, and especially forensic science, into a professional discipline was a haphazard affair. — Jeffrey Toobin, New Yorker, 7 May 2007 Pragmatism became America's most important contribution to the life of the mind in the 20th century. Filtered through scores of later interpreters, it percolated across a broad segment of academic culture and influenced disciplines as diverse as literary criticism and legal theory. — Theo Anderson, Wilson Quarterly, Summer 2007 So the next fall I went to Hampshire College and began studying under Herbert Bernstein. Without him, I would never have become a scientist. He shamed me into doing the hard work necessary to be able not just to talk about math and physics but to calculate. Without that discipline, my story would have been very different … — Lee Smolin, Curious Minds, (2004) 2005 He stood erect, his bearing patrician, his dress impeccable. His face was stern and his pale eyes unsmiling behind his trifocals, like a man who had been called from important duties in the principal's office to administer discipline to an unruly classroom. — Nick Taylor, Laser, 2000 The teacher has a hard time maintaining discipline in the classroom. The troops were praised for their dedication and discipline. Some parents feel that the school's principal has been too harsh in meting out discipline. Keeping a journal is a good discipline for a writer.

Verb

The Army disciplined seven men for the incident, penalties ranging from pay-cuts and loss of rank to dismissal from the Rangers and return to the rank-and-file Army. — Gary Smith, Sports Illustrated, 11 Sept. 2006 Volunteers have to undergo a program to discipline the mind and cleanse the soul. — Aparism Ghosh, Time, 4 July 2005 The teacher then took me to the principal's office. There, the principal attempted to discipline me with an old Catholic school technique called "paddling" … — Lalo Gomez, Undoing Time, 2001 She was disciplined for misbehaving in class. He seems unwilling or unable to discipline his children. I'm trying to discipline myself to eat less.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Fasting teaches all Muslims restraint and self-discipline. — Nadra Widatalla, Teen Vogue, "Why Ramadan Is Important to Me in an Islamophobic America," 7 May 2019 According to Buzzfeed, the two bonded over BDSM, which stands for bondage, discipline, sadism, and masochism. — Blake Bakkila, Good Housekeeping, "Who Is Nicholas Godejohn? Inside Gypsy Rose Blanchard's Relationship With Her Mother's Killer," 3 Apr. 2019 The room is divided into disciplines, akin to a NASA mission control room, with engineers in one section, payload specialists in another, and a stratum of officers overseeing the checklists. — Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, "Inside the Locked Rooms Where They Protect GPS," 22 Mar. 2019 The elaborate aesthetic was prevalent across a range of disciplines, including furniture, architecture, fine art, pottery, and glassware. — Monique Valeris, ELLE Decor, "Here's Everything You Need to Know About Art Nouveau Design," 28 Mar. 2019 Competitions consist of two disciplines: lead climbing and speed ice climbing. — Jen Murphy, WSJ, "An Elite Ice Climber’s Year-Round Workout," 23 Feb. 2019 At the risk of sounding monotonous, every discipline of motorsport involves a balance of three competing aspects: being a sport, being a platform for technology development, and being good entertainment. — Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, "Open mind, wide open throttle: We go to our first NASCAR race," 15 Nov. 2018 In looking into the links between music and math, one can’t help feeling excited affection for the freewheeling curiosity of previous centuries, when savants played over broad arrays of disciplines like virtuoso keyboardists. — Paul Grimstad, The New Republic, "Can You Measure How Good a Song Is?," 21 June 2018 These consist of rare and important works by countless artists of varying disciplines. — Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, "TML: Summer of 1970 - Wedgies, wiffle ball and no reason to stay inside," 21 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The commission, known as the PCIARC, votes on whether St. Paul officers should be disciplined for policy violations and forwards recommendations to the police chief. — Mara H. Gottfried, Twin Cities, "Leaders of commission that reviews St. Paul police misconduct resign, say mayor and staff don’t support their work," 4 June 2019 Last year, the controversial head of the clinic, Stanislaw Burzynski, was disciplined by the Texas Medical Board for misleading terminally ill cancer patients about their treatments and risks. — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, "Crowdfunding raises millions for quack cancer remedies, like coffee enemas," 20 Sep. 2018 Stay as proactive, disciplined, and focused as possible this month for maximum reward at work. — Colin Bedell, Cosmopolitan, "Your Horoscope for the Week of March 5," 4 Mar. 2018 Meanwhile, the exterior is a sleek and disciplined International Style facade that plays like an homage to Mies van der Rohe, whose famous Seagram Building is practically around the corner, on Park Avenue. — Brad Dunning, GQ, "These Are the 8 Architectural Wonders Of the Fashion World," 28 Mar. 2018 Even though arbitrator Shyam Das ruled the Bengals to be in the wrong, the team won't be disciplined by the NFL. — Mark Inabinett, AL.com, "NFL doesn't think AJ McCarron should be an unrestricted free agent," 18 Feb. 2018 Good generals learn to discipline their imaginations. — Lance Morrow, WSJ, "Trump-Russia Made for Gripping Fiction," 26 Mar. 2019 These same teens are twice as likely to be disciplined than their white peers in school and are twice as likely to be incarcerated for minor crimes than teens of any other race. — Rebecca Nagle, Teen Vogue, "Invisibility is the Modern Form of Racism Against Native Americans," 23 Oct. 2018 Nobody teaches you how to be disciplined in these situations, where everything’s trying to sweep you off your feet. — Eric Johnson, Recode, "Wearables pioneer Jawbone is back with a new mission: Warning you about health problems you didn’t know you had," 26 Sep. 2018

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

History and Etymology for discipline

Noun

Middle English, "chastisement, system of ordered conduct, instruction, branch of learning," borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin disciplīna "teaching, instruction, branch of study, orderly conduct based on moral training" (Medieval Latin, "chastisement, scourging"), from discipulus "pupil, learner" + -īna, suffix denoting a place or practice (from noun derivative of feminine of -īnus -ine entry 1) — more at disciple

Verb

Middle English disciplinen "to subject to chastisement, educate," borrowed from Anglo-French & Late Latin; Anglo-French discipliner, borrowed from Late Latin disciplīnāre "to teach" (Medieval Latin, "to punish, scourge"), derivative of Latin disciplīna "teaching, discipline entry 1"

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Dictionary Entries near discipline

disciplinary

disciplinary barracks

Statistics for discipline

Last Updated

7 Jun 2019

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Time Traveler for discipline

The first known use of discipline was in the 13th century

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More Definitions for discipline

discipline

noun

English Language Learners Definition of discipline

(Entry 1 of 2)

: control that is gained by requiring that rules or orders be obeyed and punishing bad behavior

: a way of behaving that shows a willingness to obey rules or orders

: behavior that is judged by how well it follows a set of rules or orders

discipline

verb

English Language Learners Definition of discipline (Entry 2 of 2)

: to punish (someone) as a way of making sure that rules or orders are obeyed

: to train (yourself) to do something by controlling your behavior

See the full definition for discipline in the English Language Learners Dictionary

discipline

noun

dis·ci·pline | \ ˈdi-sə-plən

Kids Definition of discipline

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : punishment sense 1

2 : strict training that corrects or strengthens “Boys need discipline,” he said.

3 : habits and ways of acting that are gotten through practice At this point in the act the penguins always forgot their discipline …— Richard and Florence Atwater, Mr. Popper's Penguins

4 : control that is gained by insisting that rules be followed The teacher tried to maintain discipline.