disciplined

1. 1
   adjective

   Having the mental self-control to stay focused and follow through on a task or goal.

   A disciplined investor sticks to the plan even when markets swing wildly.

   Years of practice made her a disciplined and focused musician.

   Similarfocused, self-controlled, methodical, diligent, dedicated

   Oppositeundisciplined, impulsive, lax, erratic

2. 2
   adjective

   Kept firmly under control; marked by order and restraint rather than excess or carelessness.

   The army made a disciplined retreat, holding formation under heavy fire.

   The company's disciplined approach to costs kept it profitable during the downturn.

   Similarorderly, controlled, measured, restrained, rigorous

   Oppositeundisciplined, disorderly, chaotic, reckless

3. 3
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of discipline.

   The board disciplined two members for breaking the code of conduct.

   Soldiers who disobeyed orders were disciplined harshly.

   Note

   The verb behind the adjective is always transitive: someone disciplines someone else. That makes the past participle sit easily in the passive (the players were disciplined). In that slot it usually means punished or brought to order, not self-controlled. "A disciplined team" praises the players, while "the team was disciplined" usually reports a penalty. Compare the adjective of self-control.

4. 4
   adjectivein compounds

   Relating to a specified number or kind of fields of study, training, or professional expertise.

   The research institute is deliberately multi-disciplined, pairing molecular biologists with software developers.

   Reviewers noted that the candidates were narrowly disciplined, each trained in only one specialty.

   Similarspecialized, trained

   Note

   The counting and classifying use works in combination. A number or a field goes in front, usually joined by a hyphen, as in multi-disciplined or the "three-disciplined role" that Sales Management described in 1970: a salesman acting as planner, profit improver and negotiator. Read the prefix first. A three-disciplined person spans three fields, which says nothing about the self-controlled meaning.

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