civilian

[si-vil-yuhn]

noun

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.

adjective

1. of, pertaining to, formed by, or administered by civilians.

civilian

/ sɪˈvɪljən /

noun

1. 1. a person whose primary occupation is civil or nonmilitary

   2. ( as modifier )

      civilian life

Other Word Forms

• anticivilian adjective
• noncivilian noun
• procivilian adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of civilian¹

1350–1400; Middle English: student of civil law < Old French civilien (adj.); civil, -ian

Word History and Origins

Origin of civilian¹

C14 (originally: a practitioner of civil law): from civile (from the Latin phrase jūs cīvīle civil law) + _-ian

Example Sentences

Sir Keir told MPs that Monday's deal provided "a moment of profound relief" as he paid tribute to both the hostages and the civilians killed in Gaza.

Read more on BBC

The regime has the backing of leftist, combat-hardened Colombian guerrilla groups and civilian Maduro supporters who experts say wouldn’t be much of a challenge to U.S. forces.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

She added that she did not think the ribbons truly represented Israeli civilian hostages.

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Allied countries are caught between having to develop long-term solutions to address Russia’s continuing hybrid threats, and a more immediate need to help civilians prepare for the next potential wave of drones.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The massive civilian toll of the war put domestic pressure on Arab governments to rein in Hamas.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• citizen 
• noncombatant