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discipline

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verb

Synonym Chooser

How is the word discipline distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of discipline are castigate, chasten, chastise, correct, and punish. While all these words mean "to inflict a penalty on in requital for wrongdoing," discipline implies a punishing or chastening in order to bring under control.

parents must discipline their children

When is castigate a more appropriate choice than discipline?

The meanings of castigate and discipline largely overlap; however, castigate usually implies a severe, typically public censure.

an editorial castigating the entire city council

When would chasten be a good substitute for discipline?

The synonyms chasten and discipline are sometimes interchangeable, but chasten suggests any affliction or trial that leaves one humbled or subdued.

chastened by a landslide election defeat

When can chastise be used instead of discipline?

While the synonyms chastise and discipline are close in meaning, chastise may apply to either the infliction of corporal punishment or to verbal censure or denunciation.

chastised his son for neglecting his studies

When might correct be a better fit than discipline?

While in some cases nearly identical to discipline, correct implies punishing aimed at reforming an offender.

the function of prison is to correct the wrongdoer

When is it sensible to use punish instead of discipline?

The words punish and discipline can be used in similar contexts, but punish implies subjecting to a penalty for wrongdoing.

punished for stealing

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of discipline
Noun
Yet for those who spent the past two decades pushing their disciplines toward legitimacy, the idea of arriving at the finish line together feels more than a little surreal. Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 14 July 2025 The noise event is over well before the hearing, so is the HOA banned from imposing discipline for such unneighborly behavior? Kelly G. Richardson, Oc Register, 11 July 2025
Verb
Senator Paul doesn't believe enough people were fired and that more than just those six Secret Service agents should have been disciplined as a result of this. NBC news, 13 July 2025 The agency continued to discipline deputies who worked in the Tamarac district, suspending Dia Cross, Daimeon Nelson, Eric Baide, Eric Klisiak, Daniel Lovallo and Lemar Blackwood. Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 13 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for discipline
Recent Examples of Synonyms for discipline
Noun
  • Employers believe that workers in specific departments, like sales and marketing (85%) and human resources (78%), will derive significant value from AI implementation.
    Rachel Wells, Forbes.com, 16 July 2025
  • If the measure is approved by city commissioners, police officers could receive a maximum of $250 in bonuses per shift for stops in Worthington Hills, a 0.3-square-mile city of about 1,500 residents off Westport Road that does not have its own police department.
    Josh Wood, The Courier-Journal, 15 July 2025
Noun
  • Mackenzie sued, arguing that under the Constitution, her American birth gave her citizenship as a right, not a privilege, to be removed only as punishment for a crime or through voluntary expatriation.
    Marcia Biederman, Hartford Courant, 13 July 2025
  • For years, state and local authorities have struggled to police these operations, hampered by limited resources and weak criminal punishments that allow arcade owners to brush off law-enforcement interference, the news organizations found.
    Josh Salman, Miami Herald, 11 July 2025
Noun
  • At its core, Wimbledon is a British brand built on restraint: the all-white dress code, the absence of in-your-face, on-court branding, the strawberries and cream.
    Jeetendr Sehdev, Forbes.com, 13 July 2025
  • Critics say Trump has only become more dangerous, pursuing radical ideas without restraint.
    Eric Cortellessa, Time, 11 July 2025
Verb
  • This punishes exposure but doesn’t reward preparedness.
    Felicia Jackson, Forbes.com, 14 July 2025
  • Świątek, 24, took an early lead in the competition, and continued at a punishing pace to secure a 6-0, 6-0 win in less than an hour of gameplay.
    Alana Wise, NPR, 12 July 2025
Noun
  • To give a wider perspective, Texas has the worst flood heritage in the U.S., if this is defined in terms of discharge per rainfall area.
    Ian Dexter Palmer, Forbes.com, 8 July 2025
  • What Readers Loved The top 25 islands this year span a huge area: The northernmost winner is Bermuda (No. 10), located in the North Atlantic, while the southernmost include the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba (No. 11), Bonaire (No. 17), and Curaçao (No. 8), all just about 50 miles from Venezuela.
    Hannah Walhout, Travel + Leisure, 8 July 2025
Noun
  • This transition helped the company avoid a potential IRS audit, preventing costly penalties and giving them peace of mind.
    Loran Armstrong, Forbes.com, 8 July 2025
  • Additional penalties could be added per violation if a tenant is older than 65 or is disabled.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2025
Noun
  • Mac's deeply closeted, Catholic-guilty homosexuality had been treated as a joke throughout the show's run, with the joke never truly being about Mac being gay, but about how his desperate repression had twisted him into a caricature of grasping masculinity.
    Dennis Perkins, EW.com, 10 July 2025
  • The costs of academic repression, in other words, are not confined to elite institutions—they are borne by everyone.
    Matt Motta, Scientific American, 10 July 2025
Noun
  • Plaintiff Phone Discovery: Critical Strategic Elements Successful phone discovery requires understanding several strategic elements that can significantly improve outcomes: The Education Component: Many resistance issues stem from genuine misunderstanding about what cell phone forensics involves.
    Lars Daniel, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025
  • The fruit and floral elements drifted away quickly, leaving a long, mineral finish that makes this a perfect wine for pairing with food, in my opinion.
    Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Discipline.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/discipline. Accessed 22 Jul. 2025.

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