civilian

American  

[si-vil-yuhn] / sɪˈvɪl jən /

noun

• civilians
  plural

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

• noncivilian
  noun
• anticivilian
  adjective
• procivilian
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• civilians
  plural

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

See Examples For:

civilian civilians

Zelensky held a call with UN chief Antonio Guterres on Friday, updating him on Russian strikes and the civilian casualties they have caused, the Ukrainian leader said on X.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

After the elections, Min Aung Hlaing -- who led the coup as armed forces chief -- took over as civilian president, handing the office of military leader to staunch loyalist Ye Win Oo.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

Kushner pressed Hamas to take the first concrete steps toward transferring authority to a new civilian body and decommissioning its weapons to push forward the plan, the people said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

The reports include officers of all genders, but many cases involve a uniformed man stalking a civilian woman — or the people close to her.

From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026

The Ministry of Health, in charge of TB control in the civilian sector, wanted most of the loan.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

Both sides accuse each other of targeting civilians.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

“No civilians or deputies were injured during the incident.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

A series of U.S. strikes on Yemen last year killed and wounded hundreds of civilians, according to an internal Pentagon assessment that was sent to Congress on Tuesday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

"Attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure are a clear violation of international humanitarian law, and must stop immediately," he said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026

“There will be regular patrols round the perimeter of the building to ensure that civilians do not tarry overlong in conversation with the prisoners.”

From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson

Related Words

• citizen
• noncombatant