discipline

noun dis·ci·pline \ ˈdi-sə-plən \

Updated on: 14 Apr 2018

Definition of discipline

1 a : 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

—

disciplinal

play \-plə-nᵊl\ adjective

See discipline defined for English-language learners

See discipline defined for kids

Examples of discipline in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples of discipline from the Web

The group is made up of Philly scientists from a variety of forensic disciplines, including DNA and firearms analysis.

— stephanie farr, Philly.com, "Philly forensic scientist helps bust crimes and stereotypes | We the People," 28 Mar. 2018
The second is an increasing focus on fostering the attitudes and personality traits found in successful people in an array of disciplines—including those who did not ace intelligence tests.

— The Economist, "How and why to search for young Einsteins," 22 Mar. 2018
Several disciplines comprised the 18 new courses with the biggest subject being mathematics, as six classes were added, including honors calculus, analytic geometry and honors statistics.

— andrew j. campa, latimes.com, "New language courses to debut this fall at Glendale Community College," 21 Mar. 2018
But the children depicted here—hunters, target shooters, competitors in trap and skeet—occupy a parallel realm, where guns signify not danger, alienation, and the threat of death but safety, discipline, and trust.

— sharif hamza, The New Yorker, "A new generation of American kids embraces firearms.," 19 Mar. 2018
When Rick Pitino shouted at Siva for his lack of discipline, he was assessed a technical, seemingly for yelling at his own player.

— chris chase, For The Win, "The 7 worst referee controversies of recent NCAA tournaments," 16 Mar. 2018
But there’s also an economic calculus, a lack of discipline, historically.

— recode staff, Recode, "‘Get Out’ producer Jason Blum talks about Netflix, low-budget movies and the Oscars," 15 Mar. 2018
Twist represents a blending of two dynamic Bay Area disciplines — biotechnology and data sciences — that grew alongside each other for years, and now share ever more ideas.

— catherine ho, San Francisco Chronicle, "Data storage on DNA: Where Silicon Valley meets biotech," 12 Mar. 2018
And in the end, the athlete has learned discipline, hard work, consistency — traits that lead to success in all aspects of life .

— glenna christensen, idahostatesman, "Like Olympians, followers of Christ keep their goal in sight | Idaho Statesman," 9 Mar. 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.

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.

Origin and Etymology of discipline

Middle English, from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French, from Latin disciplina teaching, learning, from discipulus pupil

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 2

See Words from the same year

discipline Synonyms

Other Education Terms

baccalaureate, colloquium, corequisite, dissertation, monograph, pedant, practicum, survey course, thesis

discipline

verb disci·pline

Definition of discipline

disciplined; disciplining

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

3 a : to bring (a group) under control

discipline troops

b : to impose order upon

serious writers discipline and refine their writing styles

—

discipliner

noun

See discipline defined for English-language learners

Examples of discipline in a Sentence

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 of discipline from the Web

That they were not disciplined, Krantz wrote, showed that he was being singled out.

— ian cummings, kansascity, "Prosecutor in challenged Kansas City murder case was fired for withholding evidence," 11 Apr. 2018
Students who led that demonstration said they were not disciplined.

— diana lambert, sacbee, "UC Davis allowed takeover for weeks in 2016. Students now face discipline after 3 days | The Sacramento Bee," 11 Apr. 2018
Skip Scandirito denied the allegations and he was not disciplined, the newspaper reported.

— linda trischitta, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Lauderdale man accused of killing his father, a retired judge from Boca Raton," 10 Apr. 2018
There are multiple studies showcasing how children of color, especially young black boys, are more likely to be punished, suspended, arrested in school—basically disciplined in general—than their peers.

— breanna edwards, The Root, "North Carolina Mother Upset After 2nd-Grade Son Is Sent Home With Paper Explaining ‘White Privilege’," 6 Apr. 2018
Connor implemented an uptempo, disciplined attack that allowed the Bengals to finish over .500 10 times.

— pat disabato, Daily Southtown, "Former Oak Forest boys basketball coach Ken Connor dies at 76," 31 Mar. 2018
Greenbrier Schools Superintendent Scott Spainhour did not identify affected students, but told CNN affiliate KARK they were disciplined for walking out of class, which violates policy.

— christina zdanowicz and ralph ellis, CNN, "Arkansas student says he was paddled for gun control walkout," 17 Mar. 2018
Sheriff's deputies also visited the home multiple times in the months before his death, and prosecutors said in court papers that some of the deputies were later disciplined in connection with their response.

— matt hamilton, latimes.com, "Mother of 8-year-old boy tortured and beaten to death pleads guilty to murder," 16 Feb. 2018
Fortunately for them and sadly for Republicans, sightings of a scripted, disciplined Trump are rare.

— jonathan s. tobin, National Review, "State of the Union: Imagine CNN for an Hour without Russia," 1 Feb. 2018

Origin and Etymology of discipline

see ¹discipline

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

discipline Synonyms

Synonyms

castigate, chasten, chastise, correct, penalize, punish;

Antonyms

excuse, pardon, spare;

Near Antonyms

forfeit;

get off, ransom, release;

commute, reprieve;

absolve, acquit, exculpate, exonerate, vindicate;

convict, sentence;

condemn, damn, denounce;

criticize, keelhaul, rebuke, reprimand, reprove;

wreak;

Synonym Discussion of discipline

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

Other Education Terms

baccalaureate, colloquium, corequisite, dissertation, monograph, pedant, practicum, survey course, thesis

DISCIPLINE Defined for English Language Learners

discipline

noun

Definition of discipline for English Language Learners

: 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

Definition of discipline for English Language Learners

: 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

DISCIPLINE Defined for Kids

discipline

noun dis·ci·pline \ ˈdi-sə-plən \

Definition of discipline for Students

1 : punishment 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.

discipline

verb

Definition of discipline for Students

disciplined; disciplining

1 : to punish as a way to bring about good behavior

The principal disciplined the troublemakers.

2 : to train in self-control or obedience

The diet disciplines overeaters.

3 : to bring under control

discipline troops

Learn More about discipline

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discipline

Definition of discipline

disciplinal

Examples of discipline in a Sentence

Recent Examples of discipline from the Web

The Root and Meanings of discipline

Origin and Etymology of discipline

discipline Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

Other Education Terms

discipline

Definition of discipline

discipliner

Examples of discipline in a Sentence

Recent Examples of discipline from the Web

Origin and Etymology of discipline

discipline Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

Synonym Discussion of discipline

Other Education Terms

DISCIPLINE Defined for English Language Learners

discipline

Definition of discipline for English Language Learners

discipline

Definition of discipline for English Language Learners

DISCIPLINE Defined for Kids

discipline

Definition of discipline for Students

discipline

Definition of discipline for Students

Learn More about discipline

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