civil

[siv-uhl]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or consisting of citizens.

   civil life; civil society.

2. of the commonwealth or state.

   civil affairs.

3. of citizens in their ordinary capacity, or of the ordinary life and affairs of citizens, as distinguished from military and ecclesiastical life and affairs.

4. of the citizen as an individual.

   civil liberty.

5. befitting a citizen.

   a civil duty.

6. of, or in a condition of, social order or organized government; civilized: civilized.

   civil peoples.

7. 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
   Antonyms: churlish, boorish

8. marked by benevolence.

   He was a very civil sort, and we liked him immediately.

   Synonyms: courtly, urbane, affable, suave, complaisant, gracious, deferential, respectful
   Antonyms: churlish, boorish

9. (of divisions of time) legally recognized in the ordinary affairs of life.

   the civil year.

10. of or relating to civil law.

civil

/ ˈsɪvəl /

adjective

1. of the ordinary life of citizens as distinguished from military, legal, or ecclesiastical affairs

2. of or relating to the citizen as an individual

   civil rights

3. of or occurring within the state or between citizens

   civil strife

4. polite or courteous

5. a less common word for civic

6. of or in accordance with Roman law

7. relating to the private rights of citizens

Other Word Forms

• civilness noun
• civilly adverb
• anticivil adjective
• half-civil adjective
• half-civilly adverb
• overcivil adjective
• overcivilly adverb
• quasi-civil adjective
• quasi-civilly adverb
• supercivil adjective
• supercivilly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of civil¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin cīvīlis, equivalent to cīv ( is ) citizen + -īlis -il

Word History and Origins

Origin of civil¹

C14: from Old French, from Latin cīvīlis, from cīvis citizen

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

But a key challenge is figuring out the best bang for the buck that can be widely deployed without exploding civil defence budgets.

Read more on Barron's

I’ve been thinking a lot about your prescient book “American Midnight,” and the crackdown on civil rights and freedoms in the post-World War I years.

Read more on Salon

Corruption and the power vacuum created by civil war in Myanmar have allowed organised crime groups to dramatically expand their scam operations.

Read more on Barron's

“All applications for compliant export for civil use can get approval, so that relevant businesses have no need to worry,” it said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Amid the protests, allegations of antisemitism surged on campuses and Jewish students and faculty protested violations of their civil rights.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• civilized 
• cordial 
• courteous 
• diplomatic 
• formal 
• polite