civilian

American  

[si-vil-yuhn] / sɪˈvɪl yən /

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 British  

/ 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

Etymology

Origin of civilian

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

Example Sentences

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher told the BBC the war was a "reckless military adventure" and he described the plight of civilians.

From BBC

Others say the scale of potential civilian suffering is becoming harder to ignore.

From BBC

Asked last week by the BBC about the strike, Hegseth said the US did not target civilians and was investigating the issue.

From BBC

As the military strikes continue, concerns about civilian casualties and rising tensions in the Middle East have grown.

From BBC

Diop, who says he ended up in uniform after being lured by the promise of a civilian job, is one of the lucky ones.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• citizen
• noncombatant