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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

He spent time in Syria growing up during that country’s long civil war.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026

Washington was closely involved in the peace deal that ended the last civil war in 2022.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

The market and adjacent bridge hit in Monday's bombardment had become a hive of trading activity since civil war broke out in Myanmar following a 2021 military coup.

From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026

On 22 September, the UN refugee agency said more than 130,000 people had been displaced across Yemen so far this month, on top of 5.2 million already displaced by the civil war.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026

How there hadn’t been any government to help them after the civil war, so they’d banded together.

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz

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

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

Relations between white and black New Yorkers deteriorated during the 20 years preceding the Civil War.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

The question was an urgent one to Americans amid the rising tensions leading up to the Civil War.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 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

Family legend has it that the coin was given to Dixon by a sweetheart to serve as a good luck charm through the Civil War battles.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler