civilization

American  

[siv-uh-luh-zay-shuhn] / ˌsɪv ə ləˈzeɪ ʃən /

noun

• civilizations
  plural

1. 

   an advanced state of human society, in which a high level of culture, science, industry, and government has been reached.

2. those people or nations that have reached such a state.

3. any type of culture, society, etc., of a specific place, time, or group.

   Greek civilization.

4. the act or process of civilizing, as by bringing out of a savage, uneducated, or unrefined state, or of being civilized.

   Rome's civilization of barbaric tribes was admirable.

5. cultural refinement; refinement of thought and cultural appreciation.

   The letters of Madame de Sévigné reveal her wit and civilization.

6. cities or populated areas in general, as opposed to unpopulated or wilderness areas.

   The plane crashed in the jungle, hundreds of miles from civilization.

7. modern comforts and conveniences, as made possible by science and technology.

   After a week in the woods, without television or even running water, the campers looked forward to civilization again.

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civilization British  

/ ˌsɪvɪlaɪˈzeɪʃən /

noun

1. a human society that has highly developed material and spiritual resources and a complex cultural, political, and legal organization; an advanced state in social development

2. the peoples or nations collectively who have achieved such a state

3. the total culture and way of life of a particular people, nation, region, or period

   classical civilization

4. the process of bringing or achieving civilization

5. intellectual, cultural, and moral refinement

6. cities or populated areas, as contrasted with sparsely inhabited areas, deserts, etc

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• decivilization
  noun
• hypercivilization
  noun
• intercivilization
  noun
• overcivilization
  noun
• precivilization
  noun
• subcivilization
  noun
• supercivilization
  noun
• civilizational
  adjective
• postcivilization
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• civilizations
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of civilization

First recorded in 1765–75; from French civilisation; see civilize, -ation

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Explanation

Civilization is the opposite of barbarism and chaos. Civilization is an advanced stage of human society, where people live with a reasonable degree of organization and comfort and can think about things like art and education. Civilization covers a wide range of human achievement — from the ancient Egyptians, to Mayan and Chinese civilizations, Western civilization, and everything in between. You can use the word more generally — when you're lost in the woods, you’ll be looking for signs of civilization — lights in the distance and smoke rising from chimneys. Civilization comes from Latin civis, "citizen." If you've got citizens, then you've got government and you're moving right along on the path of human advancement.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

civilization civilizations

An Austrian archduke’s visit to Sarajevo in 1914 triggered the war that nearly destroyed European civilization.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2026

Five days after I received the message about Pete Heseth, I returned to civilization to find that very little had changed in my absence.

From Slate ● Nov. 1, 2026

Against the backdrop of the Acropolis, he argued the ancient Athenians defined the core of Western civilization.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

The story of our civilization is the greatest story ever known to man.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

“It’s time I stopped being so selfish. Maybe we should go back to civilization so you can have a normal life.”

From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr

I recently watched a documentary about the fall of the Bronze Age civilizations.

From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026

The world’s two most populous nations saw themselves as ancient civilizations humiliated by industrialized Western powers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

The rise and fall of AI agent civilizations.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026

New research now suggests that higher radio frequencies could offer another valuable place to search for technological signals from distant civilizations.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 30, 2026

“His field of study went back much further than you’d expect, that’s all. He was looking for remains of civilizations from twenty, thirty thousand years ago,” the Pole replied.

From "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman

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Related Words

• advancement
• development
• education
• progress

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