If someone is disciplined, they keep themselves under control. They follow rules, they do the hard job even when they would rather stop, and they do not let a mood push them around. We say it of people and of the way they live: a disciplined student, a disciplined army, a disciplined morning. It is usually praise, though it can sound a little cold, as if the person is always holding themselves in. Teachers, coaches, and parents like this word. Though actually, people sometimes say “disciplined” when they mean “strict with other people,” and that is not the same thing. A disciplined person controls themselves; a strict person controls you.