civilization

[siv-uh-luh-zey-shuhn]

noun

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.

civilization

/ 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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of civilization¹

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

Example Sentences

“It changed the nature of civilization by making development possible in the tropics,” said Singapore’s founding prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, in a 1990s interview.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“No lawbreakers in the history of human civilization have been treated better than illegal aliens in the United States,” Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Something analogous happens in James Fox’s “Craftland,” which is devoted to the many traditional trades and occupations that have long created the material civilization of Britain.

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“This would possibly have spelled the end of civilization,” the textbook reads, according to copies of it posted on Russian state-linked websites.

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“We must save New York because it literally is saving Western civilization—it is the capital of finance; it fuels innovation, investment and exceptional possibility.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• advancement 
• development 
• education 
• progress