disciplinary

adjective

dis·​ci·​plin·​ary ˈdi-sə-plə-ˌner-ē How to pronounce disciplinary (audio)
 especially British  ˌdi-sə-ˈpli-nə-rē
1
a
: of or relating to discipline
disciplinary problems
b
: designed to correct or punish breaches of discipline
took disciplinary action
2
: of or relating to a particular field of study
disciplinary specialization
disciplinarily adverb
disciplinarity noun

Examples of disciplinary in a Sentence

The committee is considering disciplinary measures against him. called for disciplinary actions in response to the outrageous behavior
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Federal law requires the government to go through a number of steps before taking disciplinary action, including providing notice to employees and providing an opportunity to respond. Andrea Hsu, NPR, 23 June 2025 Esposito was also ejected after Suarez hit Ohtani with a pitch, as is standard for managers when umpires deemed a hit batter was intentional after warnings had been issued, but Esposito was not included in Friday’s disciplinary action. Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 June 2025 This followed disciplinary action by his team, Spire Motorsports, which imposed a $50,000 fine on him. Saajan Jogia, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 June 2025 The theft was later determined to be a misunderstanding and no disciplinary action was taken. Mathew Miranda, Sacbee.com, 17 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for disciplinary

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Medieval Latin disciplīnārius, from Latin disciplīna "teaching, discipline entry 1" + -ārius -ary entry 2

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of disciplinary was in the 15th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Disciplinary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disciplinary. Accessed 28 Jun. 2025.

Kids Definition

disciplinary

adjective
dis·​ci·​plin·​ary ˈdis-ə-plə-ˌner-ē How to pronounce disciplinary (audio)
: of or relating to discipline : corrective
take disciplinary action

More from Merriam-Webster on disciplinary

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