civilized
Americanadjective
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having an advanced or humane culture, society, etc.
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polite; well-bred; refined.
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of or relating to civilized people.
The civilized world must fight ignorance.
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easy to manage or control; well organized or ordered.
The car is quiet and civilized, even in sharp turns.
adjective
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having a high state of culture and social development
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cultured; polite
a civilized discussion
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of civilized
Explanation
Someone who is cultured and polite — who knows to put his dinner napkin on his lap — is civilized. So could you please behave in a civilized manner and get your feet off the dinner table? Civilized is an adjective that describes the very opposite of barbarity. A civilized person is polite and courteous; he knows how to say "please" and "thank you." A civilized group of people is characterized by being socially and technologically advanced. Both dinner parties and fancy computer gadgets are signs of a civilized people. That friend of yours who likes to show people how he can belch the entire alphabet? Maybe not.
Vocabulary lists containing civilized
Excerpt from "Flipped"
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Copper Sun
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The miracle everyone pulls off is making a poisonous relationship dryly hilarious, even if every civilized exchange eventually becomes a figurative frying pan flying through the air.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
This is a civilized world we live in now.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
You would respect the movie more if it stuck with its depraved indifference to civilized behavior, rather than attempting a death-bed conversion to decency.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
“From ancient Persia of thousands of years ago to the civilized Iran of today, the spirit of Iran remains alive and steadfast,” the note read.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026
In Baltimore the roads are all cobblestone, civilized and clean.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
