civilian

American  

[si-vil-yuhn] / sɪˈvɪl jən /

noun

civilians plural

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.

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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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• noncivilian
  noun
• anticivilian
  adjective
• procivilian
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• civilians
  plural

Etymology

Origin of civilian

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

Explanation

The most common meaning for civilian is simply someone who is not in the military. It can also refer to any object that is not military in origin — e.g., "civilian clothes" or "civilian life." The meaning of civilian as a non military person is a relatively new one, dating from the early 19th century. Before that it referred to the code of law that governed non-military life. In fact for hundreds of years a civilian was somebody who was a judge or otherwise an expert on the law that applied outside military courts. Because it comes originally from a French word, remember to spell it with only one "l," even though it sounds like it should have two.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

civilian civilians

Pianese argued that the fact the two officers had to use pepper spray and needed the help of a civilian to restrain Fakir showed that the use of force had not been excessive.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

The Take Care of America’s Veterans Act includes some 60 bipartisan provisions that aim to help veterans better transition into civilian life and the workforce.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

Some of those strikes could violate international law, which forbids attacking civilian infrastructure.

From Slate ● Jul. 20, 2026

Gulf countries including Kuwait have accused Tehran of targeting civilian sites and vital infrastructure, with residents voicing worry that the renewed hostilities might drag on.

From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026

I crossed the street and entered a civilian tearoom, which was empty except for a middle-aged waitress, who looked as if she would have preferred a customer with a dry raincoat.

From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger

As many as 25,000 members of the UK armed services, scientists and civilians took part in the nuclear testing programme between 1952 and 1967 at sites including Australia and several islands in the Pacific Ocean.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

Besigye initially faced a court martial but the case was later moved to a civilian court after the Supreme Court ruled it was unconstitutional to try civilians in military courts.

From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026

Eastern time to “continue imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces and degrade their ability to attack innocent civilians and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

Keeping such power a safe distance from Israeli civilians underlies the thinking, and the subsequent action.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

Overloaded trucks and buses stall in a traffic jam as thousands of civilians and military personnel flee from Hue to Da Nang as North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces advance, 1975.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge

Related Words

• citizen
• noncombatant