civil war
a war between political factions or regions within the same country.
Origin of civil war
1- Compare American Civil War, English Civil War, Spanish Civil War.
Words Nearby civil war
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use civil war in a sentence
His invocation of a civil war and the American civil war was provocative.
In America’s ‘Uncivil War,’ Republicans Are The Aggressors | Perry Bacon Jr. (perry.bacon@fivethirtyeight.com) | February 8, 2021 | FiveThirtyEightIt is kind of exciting to see the Republican Party disintegrate into a civil war and try to figure out which side will win.
Marjorie Taylor Greene is delusional, dangerous | Peter Rosenstein | February 4, 2021 | Washington BladeThe aim was to dry up funding for violent groups and force an end to civil wars.
He said militants cling to a fantasy that if a civil war were to break out, what some extremists call a boogaloo, police and the military would join their side.
“Sense of Entitlement”: Rioters Faced Few Consequences Invading State Capitols. No Wonder They Turned to the U.S. Capitol Next. | by Jeremy Kohler | January 19, 2021 | ProPublicaWe should be conscious, too, that America has shown resilience in the past when dealing with sharp divisions, up to and including a civil war.
Madeleine Albright: 'Us vs. Them' Thinking Is Tearing America Apart. But Here's Why I'm Still Hopeful About the Future | Madeleine Albright | January 15, 2021 | Time
They are, to say the least, preparing for civil war (the polling stations are stormed by armed gangs).
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President | Pierre Assouline | January 9, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTBut what is there more irresponsible than playing with the fire of an imagined civil war in the France of today?
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President | Pierre Assouline | January 9, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTAs Sutton shows in his book, the important shift took place gradually, from the end of the civil war until World War II.
“[I]ndeed, the civil war was more or less administered from there,” an Esquire review asserts.
For the past 25 years, a massive civil war has literally divided the country into two separate entities.
His 6,000 native auxiliaries (as it proved later on) could not be relied upon in a civil war.
The Philippine Islands | John ForemanBy all the sounded consonants we have—“Inhuman civil war;” the latter shorter, more significant, and more easily remembered.
Assimilative Memory | Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)This action aroused Governor Berkeley who immediately considered Bacon a traitor, and a civil war or rebellion resulted.
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia | Dorothy M. TorpeyFor the popular voice accused him of outrages for which the utmost license of civil war would not furnish a plea.
The History of England from the Accession of James II. | Thomas Babington MacaulayWhatever his resolution may be, it is feared that there will be much disturbance, if not a civil war.
Journal of a Voyage to Brazil | Maria Graham
British Dictionary definitions for civil war (1 of 2)
war between parties, factions, or inhabitants of different regions within the same nation
British Dictionary definitions for Civil War (2 of 2)
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
US 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
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for Civil War
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.)
Notes for Civil War
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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