civilization

American  

[siv-uh-luh-zey-shuhn] / ˌsɪv ə ləˈzeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. an advanced state of human society, in which a high level of culture, science, industry, and government has been reached.

2. those people or nations that have reached such a state.

3. any type of culture, society, etc., of a specific place, time, or group.

   Greek civilization.

4. the act or process of civilizing, as by bringing out of a savage, uneducated, or unrefined state, or of being civilized.

   Rome's civilization of barbaric tribes was admirable.

5. cultural refinement; refinement of thought and cultural appreciation.

   The letters of Madame de Sévigné reveal her wit and civilization.

6. cities or populated areas in general, as opposed to unpopulated or wilderness areas.

   The plane crashed in the jungle, hundreds of miles from civilization.

7. modern comforts and conveniences, as made possible by science and technology.

   After a week in the woods, without television or even running water, the campers looked forward to civilization again.

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civilization British  

/ ˌsɪvɪlaɪˈzeɪʃən /

noun

1. a human society that has highly developed material and spiritual resources and a complex cultural, political, and legal organization; an advanced state in social development

2. the peoples or nations collectively who have achieved such a state

3. the total culture and way of life of a particular people, nation, region, or period

   classical civilization

4. the process of bringing or achieving civilization

5. intellectual, cultural, and moral refinement

6. cities or populated areas, as contrasted with sparsely inhabited areas, deserts, etc

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Other Word Forms

• civilizational adjective
• decivilization noun
• hypercivilization noun
• intercivilization noun
• overcivilization noun
• postcivilization adjective
• precivilization noun
• subcivilization noun
• supercivilization noun

Etymology

Origin of civilization

First recorded in 1765–75; from French civilisation; civilize, -ation

Example Sentences

There is nothing new about the bad conscience or self-destructive urge that Baudrillard identified within Western civilization, or about its deeply rooted conflict between incompatible tendencies we might call liberation and domination.

From Salon

“The capabilities we unlock by making space-based data centers a reality will fund and enable self-growing bases on the Moon, an entire civilization on Mars and ultimately expansion to the Universe,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal

Those entities, later used for the merger, carried the name K2, an apparent homage to the Kardashev scale—a theoretical framework that illustrates a civilization’s advancement through energy usage, including from stars.

From The Wall Street Journal

They are affirming a worldview rooted in biblical record while fighting the erasure of the foundations upon which Western civilization is built.

From The Wall Street Journal

Traditionally this column has appreciated Olympics drama especially when it involves the clash of civilizations, like Athens vs.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• advancement
• development
• education
• progress