an artifact that is one of the individual parts of which a composite entity is made up; especially a part that can be separated from or attached to a system; "spare components for cars"; "a component or constituent element of a system"
an abstract part of something; "jealousy was a component of his character"; "two constituents of a musical composition are melody and harmony"; "the grammatical elements of a sentence"; "a key factor in her success"; "humor: an effective ingredient of a speech"
(law) an explanation of the fundamental reasons (especially an explanation of the working of some device in terms of laws of nature); "the rationale for capital punishment"; "the principles of internal-combustion engines"
unpredictably difficult in operation; likely to be troublesome; "rockets were much too fractious to be tested near thickly populated areas"; "fractious components of a communication system"
stubbornly resistant to authority or control; "a fractious animal that would not submit to the harness"; "a refractory child"
the act of punishing; "the offenders deserved the harsh discipline they received"
the trait of being well behaved; "he insisted on discipline among the troops"
a system of rules of conduct or method of practice; "he quickly learned the discipline of prison routine"; "for such a plan to work requires discipline";
a branch of knowledge; "in what discipline is his doctorate?"; "teachers should be well trained in their subject"; "anthropology is the study of human beings"
punish in order to gain control or enforce obedience; "The teacher disciplined the pupils rather frequently"
train by instruction and practice; especially to teach self-control; "Parents must discipline their children"; "Is this dog trained?"