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

Buried in his “State of the Force” address was this passage: “Every major military installation in America is going to generate its own power. Independent of the civilian grid.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

Admissions by Saudi authorities of civilian targets being hit are relatively rare.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

"But the money was meant to avoid a civilian catastrophe - that is the only reason."

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

Online sources indicate that the district’s school police department currently has about 270 sworn officers, 61 non-sworn safety officers and 40 civilian staff members.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

These men were dressed in their civilian clothes; they must have been picked up after the storm, as Zeitoun and his companions had been.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers

Nuclear reactors at bases would mean less pollution and reduced electricity rates for civilians.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

In Yemen, one of the world's poorest countries, it is ordinary civilians paying the price, with more than 200,000 people displaced since July, according to UN data.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

The Second World War, meanwhile, inflicted its own deadly toll -- the Soviet Union suffered the highest casualties, with 20-27 million people estimated to have died, both civilians and military.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

It is also where Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is located, a base which 70,000 service members and civilians work at.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

We civilians didn’t speak among ourselves during that day.

From "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah

Related Words

• citizen
• noncombatant