civilize
verb (used with object)
to bring out of a savage, uneducated, or rude state; make civil; elevate in social and private life; enlighten; refine.
civilise
-
a variation of
civilize.
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.
To acknowledge that brown men could not only govern, but also in many cases, beat the British would expose the empire's so-called mission to "civilise".
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2021
"The reason it was banned is because it had been a particularly grotesque weapon. Geneva was an attempt to civilise war," he says.
From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2015
Americans asked why they were expending so much of their own blood to civilise a place that seemingly gloried in barbarism.
From Economist ● Jun. 12, 2014
You see the effects of poverty, and the grandiose claims that imperial nations make about the mission to civilise, which in practice doesn’t happen.
From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2012
“College does civilise a boy,” he ejaculates, which is true—always providing that it is a good college.
From Matthew Arnold by George Saintsbury
