as in enforcer
a person who is very strict about punishing bad behavior; a person who uses discipline as a way of making sure that rules or orders are obeyed
The school's principal is a strict disciplinarian.
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Recent Examples of disciplinarian
Both were industrious strivers at work and strict disciplinarians at home.
—
Danielle Amir Jackson, The Atlantic, 27 Feb. 2025
The 45-year-old wife, accused of being the primary disciplinarian, was sentenced to 12 years in prison, while the 43-year-old husband received a 10-year sentence.
—Olivia Lloyd, Miami Herald, 14 Jan. 2025
After three years with John Fox, Pace didn’t need to fully reset the culture inside Halas Hall and bring in an experienced disciplinarian because Fox had helped clean up the mess left behind by the Phil Emery/Marc Trestman administration.
—Adam Jahns, The Athletic, 5 Jan. 2025
There are no old-school disciplinarians in the NFL any longer, but Campbell’s success is based on toughness, winning the one-on-one battles and gambling that his team will be successful on fourth-down plays.
—Steve Silverman, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for disciplinarian
Danielle Amir Jackson, The Atlantic, 27 Feb. 2025
The 45-year-old wife, accused of being the primary disciplinarian, was sentenced to 12 years in prison, while the 43-year-old husband received a 10-year sentence.
—Olivia Lloyd, Miami Herald, 14 Jan. 2025
After three years with John Fox, Pace didn’t need to fully reset the culture inside Halas Hall and bring in an experienced disciplinarian because Fox had helped clean up the mess left behind by the Phil Emery/Marc Trestman administration.
—Adam Jahns, The Athletic, 5 Jan. 2025
There are no old-school disciplinarians in the NFL any longer, but Campbell’s success is based on toughness, winning the one-on-one battles and gambling that his team will be successful on fourth-down plays.
—Steve Silverman, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for disciplinarian
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disciplinarian
Noun
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Utah can envision Jackson being another scoring option in an offense headlined by Lauri Markkanen and Keyonte George, as well as another defensive enforcer in a frontcourt already featuring 7-2 center Walker Kessler.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
3 Feb. 2026
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Kristen Johnston played Sally Solomon, the mission’s tough enforcer who struggled hilariously with human emotions and stereotypical female archetypes, given that their alien species was genderless before coming to Earth.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The behind-the-scenes footage of the series, some of it previously unaired, allows viewers to see Walsh’s full range — erudite professor, taskmaster, West Coast offense wizard and comic cut-up.—
Daniel Brown,
New York Times,
1 Feb. 2026
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Guardiola was always a stern taskmaster with Sane, never overly praising him and often reeling back giddy reporters keen to hype the German star.—
Zak Garner-Purkis,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Maduro — a left-wing authoritarian who ruled Venezuela for more than a decade while ignoring election results — was not just another foreign dictator.—
Dustin Olson,
Boston Herald,
25 Jan. 2026
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But here, such altruistic considerations do not justify capitulating to a lawless authoritarian in the White House.—
Max Potter,
Denver Post,
15 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Its focus soon shifted to ousting dictator Slobodan Milosevic, using mass demonstrations and a general strike across the provinces to make its point.—
Elizabeth Shackelford,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Feb. 2026
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Thousands of Libyans gathered Friday to mourn Seif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of the late dictator, at his funeral in northwestern Libya.—
Yousef Murad,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Disciplinarian.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disciplinarian. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.
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