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• civil war
  civil war

  noun

  a war between political factions or regions within the same country.
• Civil War
  Civil War

  noun

  English history the conflict between Charles I and the Parliamentarians resulting from disputes over their respective prerogatives. Parliament gained decisive victories at Marston Moor in 1644 and Naseby in 1645, and Charles was executed in 1649

civil war

American  

[siv-uhl wawr] / ˈsɪv əl ˈwɔr /

noun

• civil wars
  plural

1. a war between political factions or regions within the same country.

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civil war ¹ British  

noun

1. war between parties, factions, or inhabitants of different regions within the same nation

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Civil War ² British  

noun

1. English history the conflict between Charles I and the Parliamentarians resulting from disputes over their respective prerogatives. Parliament gained decisive victories at Marston Moor in 1644 and Naseby in 1645, and Charles was executed in 1649

2. history the war fought from 1861 to 1865 between the North and the South, sparked off by Lincoln's election as president but with deep-rooted political and economic causes, exacerbated by the slavery issue. The advantages of the North in terms of population, finance, and communications brought about the South's eventual surrender at Appomattox

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Civil War Cultural  

1. The war fought in the United States between northern (Union) and southern (Confederate) states from 1861 to 1865, in which the Confederacy sought to establish itself as a separate nation. The Civil War is also known as the War for Southern Independence and as the War between the States. The war grew out of deep-seated differences between the social structure and economy of North and South, most notably over slavery; generations of political maneuvers had been unable to overcome these differences (see Missouri Compromise and Compromise of 1850). The secession of the southern states began in late 1860, after Abraham Lincoln was elected president. The Confederacy was formed in early 1861. The fighting began with the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter. Most of the battles took place in the South, but one extremely crucial episode, the Battle of Gettysburg, was fought in the North. The war ended with the surrender of General Robert E. Lee to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House. (See Battle of Bull Run, Battle of Chancellorsville, Emancipation Proclamation, and Sherman's march to the sea.)

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The Civil War has been the most serious test yet of the ability of the United States to remain one nation.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• civil wars
  plural

Etymology

Origin of civil war

First recorded in 1540–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

civil war Civil War

Yemen remains engulfed in a devastating civil war which has lasted more than a decade.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

The climate surrounding routine abductions, he adds, has "generated further difficulties on the youth of Myanmar, already affected by years of civil war, and their families".

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

The current dispute between China and Taiwan dates to a civil war between the nationalist forces of Chiang Kai-shek, who retreated to the island in 1949 after being defeated by Mao Zedong's communist fighters.

From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2026

The Houthis, who control most of northwest Yemen, captured swathes of coastal land from Yemen's pro-government forces last month after the country's civil war reignited in July.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

The tribe migrated for several reasons, including civil war and discrimination at home, as well as the fact that the mountains held an abundance of grasslands—a paradise for grazing cows.

From "How Dare the Sun Rise" by Sandra Uwiringiyimana

From 1861 to 1865, while the Civil War raged, Emily Dickinson wrote over 900 poems.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Jay Cooke, the titanic banker of his era, sold the bonds that helped the North win the Civil War.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

In “A Moment in the Sun,” Shane White has created a remarkable portrait of black life in Manhattan that reveals the possibilities and limits of freedom during the 50 years preceding the Civil War.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

The court’s size rose to 10 by around the Civil War and the creation of the 10th U.S.

From Slate ● Sep. 3, 2026

But Civil War doctors didn't know that infection-causing bacteria even existed.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow