civil
Americanadjective
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of, relating to, or consisting of citizens.
civil life; civil society.
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of the commonwealth or state.
civil affairs.
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of citizens in their ordinary capacity, or of the ordinary life and affairs of citizens, as distinguished from military and ecclesiastical life and affairs.
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of the citizen as an individual.
civil liberty.
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befitting a citizen.
a civil duty.
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of, or in a condition of, social order or organized government; civilized: civilized.
civil peoples.
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adhering to the norms of polite social intercourse; not deficient in common courtesy.
After their disagreement, their relations were civil though not cordial.
- Synonyms:
- courtly, urbane, affable, suave, complaisant, gracious, deferential, respectful
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marked by benevolence.
He was a very civil sort, and we liked him immediately.
- Synonyms:
- courtly, urbane, affable, suave, complaisant, gracious, deferential, respectful
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(of divisions of time) legally recognized in the ordinary affairs of life.
the civil year.
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of or relating to civil law.
adjective
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of the ordinary life of citizens as distinguished from military, legal, or ecclesiastical affairs
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of or relating to the citizen as an individual
civil rights
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of or occurring within the state or between citizens
civil strife
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polite or courteous
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a less common word for civic
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of or in accordance with Roman law
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relating to the private rights of citizens
Related Words
Civil, affable, courteous, polite all imply avoidance of rudeness toward others. Civil suggests a minimum of observance of social requirements. Affable suggests ease of approach and friendliness. Courteous implies positive, dignified, sincere, and thoughtful consideration for others. Polite implies habitual courtesy, arising from a consciousness of one's training and the demands of good manners.
Other Word Forms
- anticivil adjective
- civilly adverb
- civilness noun
- half-civil adjective
- half-civilly adverb
- overcivil adjective
- overcivilly adverb
- quasi-civil adjective
- quasi-civilly adverb
- supercivil adjective
- supercivilly adverb
Etymology
Origin of civil
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin cīvīlis, equivalent to cīv ( is ) citizen + -īlis -il
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They believe in an enlightened, secular Islam compatible with freedom of conscience and civil equality.
The civil case brought by Giuffre was ultimately settled out of court in 2022, with Andrew rejecting any claims of wrongdoing and not having to deliver any testimony.
From BBC
He was a civil engineer and a geologist, with a special interest in landslides.
From Literature
This is a civil trial, so there is no jury and the judge - Mr Justice Nicklin - will decide the case on his own.
From BBC
The pension administrator, Capita, took on management of civil service pensions in December and said it had been left with a much bigger backlog of cases than originally agreed.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
