civilian

American  

[si-vil-yuhn] / sɪˈvɪl yən /

noun

1. a person who is not on active duty with a military, naval, police, or fire fighting organization.

2. Informal. anyone regarded by members of a profession, interest group, society, etc., as not belonging; nonprofessional; outsider.

   We need a producer to run the movie studio, not some civilian from the business world.

3. a person versed in or studying Roman or civil law.

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adjective

1. of, pertaining to, formed by, or administered by civilians.

civilian British  

/ sɪˈvɪljən /

noun

1. 1. a person whose primary occupation is civil or nonmilitary

   2. ( as modifier )

      civilian life

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• procivilian
  adjective
• anticivilian
  adjective
• noncivilian
  noun

Etymology

Origin of civilian

1350–1400; Middle English: student of civil law < Old French civilien (adj.); see civil, -ian

Explanation

The most common meaning for civilian is simply someone who is not in the military. It can also refer to any object that is not military in origin — e.g., "civilian clothes" or "civilian life." The meaning of civilian as a non military person is a relatively new one, dating from the early 19th century. Before that it referred to the code of law that governed non-military life. In fact for hundreds of years a civilian was somebody who was a judge or otherwise an expert on the law that applied outside military courts. Because it comes originally from a French word, remember to spell it with only one "l," even though it sounds like it should have two.

Example Sentences

The U.S. is also working to counter those threats and help free up civilian shipping.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026

Human-like machines may appear familiar and trustworthy as their civilian use grows, increasing the risk people misread danger.

From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026

But it has no say in the disciplining of the department’s sworn and civilian employees — a role that falls to the police chief.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2026

I can think of one case where a senior civilian in the Pentagon manipulated the promotion process to make sure that certain colonels were lifted to the rank of general.

From Slate • Jun. 5, 2026

My mother had a civilian job at an Air Force base.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Related Words

• citizen
• noncombatant