discipline

UK/ˈdɪsɪplɪn//ˈdɪsəplɪn/

discipline noun: a controlled behaviour; self-control.

Noun

discipline (countable and uncountable, plural disciplines)

A controlled behaviour; self-control.
- The most perfect, who have their passions in the best discipline, are yet obliged to be constantly on their guard.a. 1729, John Rogers, The Difficulties of Obtaining Salvation
Antonyms:

spontaneity
1. An enforced compliance or control.
  - The masters looked unusually stern, but it was the sternness of thought rather than of discipline.1956, Michael Arlen, “1/1/2”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days
2. A systematic method of obtaining obedience.
  - Discipline aims at the removal of bad habits and the substitution of good ones, especially those of order, regularity, and obedience.1871, Charles John Smith, Synonyms Discriminated
  - Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?1973, Bible (New International Version), Hebrews 12:7
3. A state of order based on submission to authority.
  - Their wildness lose, and, quitting nature's part, / Obey the rules and discipline of art.1697, Virgil, “The Second Book of the Georgics”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC
4. A set of rules regulating behaviour.
5. A punishment to train or maintain control.
  - giving her the discipline of the strap1712 October 12 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “WEDNESDAY, October 2, 1712”, in The Spectator, number 499; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a...
6. A whip used for self-flagellation.
  - All she had done was give Teena a cilice, a barbed metal chain she was to tie around her thigh for two hours every day, and a discipline, a rope whip with knotted ends she was to use on her back when she prayed the Hail Mary.2024 March 16, Antonia Cundy, “The Opus Dei diaries”, in FT Weekend, London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 18
7. A flagellation as a means of obtaining sexual gratification.
A specific branch of knowledge, learning, or practice.
- Near-synonyms: specialty, speciality, specialism
- academic disciplines
Synonyms:

field, sphere, specialty, speciality, specialism
1. A category in which a certain art, sport or other activity belongs.

Verb

discipline (third-person singular simple present disciplines, present participle disciplining, simple past and past participle disciplined)

(transitive) To train someone by instruction and practice.
(transitive) To teach someone to obey authority.
(transitive) To punish someone in order to (re)gain control.
(transitive) To impose order on someone.

discipline meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

discipline in Hindi

controlled behaviour, self-control: अनुशासन anuśāsan
punishment: दंड daṇḍ
specific branch or knowledge or learning: विषय viṣay
enforced compliance or control: अनुशासन anuśāsan

discipline in Tamil

கட்டுப்பாடு, ஒழுக்கம், கட்டொழுங்கு, துறை, பயிற்சி, கட்டுப்படுத்தல்

discipline in Urdu

controlled behaviour, self-control: نَظْم و ضَبْط nazm o zabt

More languagesFewer languages

discipline in Bengali: শৃঙ্খলা, নিয়মানুবর্তিতা, শাস্তি, উপদেশ
discipline in Malayalam: അച്ചടക്കം accaṭakkaṁ
discipline in Kannada: ಶಿಸ್ತು, ನಿಯಮಪಾಲನೆ, ಕಟ್ಟುಪಾಡು, ಕಟ್ಟುನಿಟ್ಟು
discipline in Punjabi: ਅਦਬ adab
discipline in Gujarati: શિસ્ત śist
discipline in Odia: ଜାରି jāri, ବର୍ଗ barga
discipline in Tagalog: takdang-aral, disiplina
discipline in Arabic: اِنْضِبَاط inḍibāṭ, تَهْذِيب tahḏīb, فَرْع مِنَ الْمَعْرِفَة farʕ mina l-maʕrifa, مَادَّة mādda
discipline in Indonesian: disiplin, disiplin ilmu
discipline in Thai: วินัย wí-nai, ระเบียบ rá-bìiap, วิชา wí-chaa, สาขาวิชา
discipline in Vietnamese: kỉ luật
discipline in Myanmar: စည်းကမ်း cany:kam:

Examples of discipline in a sentence

Economics is a messy discipline: too fluid to be a science, too rigorous to be an art.2013 August 3, “Boundary problems”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847:
This mathematical discipline, by the help of geometrical principles, doth teach to contrive several weights and powers unto motion or rest.1648, John Wilkins, Mathematical Magick:

All 40 example sentences with discipline

Synonyms of discipline

3 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

spontaneity

All synonyms and antonyms of discipline

Forms of discipline

Noun
plural	disciplines
Verb
third-person singular present	disciplines
present participle	disciplining
past participle	disciplined
past	disciplined

Past tense of discipline: disciplined

Plural of discipline: disciplines

Origin of discipline

From Middle English [Term?], from Anglo-Norman, from Old French descipline, from Latin disciplina (“instruction”), from discipulus (“pupil”), influenced by disco (“to learn”), from Proto-Indo-European *dek- (“(cause to) accept”).

Words formed from discipline

Questions about discipline

What does discipline mean?: Discipline means a controlled behaviour; self-control.
What is discipline in Hindi?: Discipline in Hindi is अनुशासन (anuśāsan), दंड (daṇḍ), विषय (viṣay). See Discipline meaning in Hindi.
How do you use discipline in a sentence?: Economics is a messy discipline: too fluid to be a science, too rigorous to be an art.
What part of speech is discipline?: Discipline can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce discipline?: Discipline is pronounced /ˈdɪsɪplɪn/ (UK).
What is the plural of discipline?: The plural of discipline is disciplines.

Words near discipline in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-discipline.ogg.

Cite this entry: “discipline.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/discipline. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.