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 is essential for our civilization to understand how magnetism is changing on Earth.

Read more on Science Daily

According to new research presented at the EPSC-DPS2025 Joint Meeting in Helsinki, the nearest technological civilization in the Milky Way could be roughly 33,000 light years away.

Read more on Science Daily

On the borderlands of early civilizations, people who considered one another alien met in moments of trade, warfare or simple human curiosity.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

To many it seemed, as President Franklin Roosevelt said in 1933 during his first inaugural address, that “the money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Why focus on the Aztecs out of the numerous civilizations that existed in the territory that now constitutes Mexico?

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• advancement 
• development 
• education 
• progress