civilize
Americanverb (used with object)
-
civilizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
civilized,
past participle, past
-
civilizing
present participle
verb
-
to bring out of savagery or barbarism into a state characteristic of civilization
-
to refine, educate, or enlighten
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
civilizernoun
-
overcivilizeverb
-
decivilizeverb (used with object)
-
uncivilizeverb (used with object)
-
civilizableadjective
-
civilizatoryadjective
-
noncivilizableadjective
-
uncivilizableadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
civilizesimple
-
civilizessimple
-
have civilizedperfect
-
has civilizedperfect
-
am civilizingprogressive
-
are civilizingprogressive
-
is civilizingprogressive
-
have been civilizingperfect progressive
-
has been civilizingperfect progressive
Past
-
civilizedsimple
-
had civilizedperfect
-
was civilizingprogressive
-
were civilizingprogressive
-
had been civilizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of civilize
Explanation
To civilize is to make someone or something more tame or refined, and less wild. You might try to civilize your younger brother by teaching him some table manners. You can attempt to civilize your crazy dog, so you can invite people over without having her jump on them and chew on their shoes. You can also civilize a person by teaching them to be more sophisticated or tasteful: "My aunt tried to civilize me by taking me to museums and ballets, but I preferred watching professional wrestling on TV." The Latin word civilis is at the root of civilized, meaning "befitting a citizen" or "courteous."
Vocabulary lists containing civilize
We the People: Civ
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
List 4
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
-ize
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
He will attempt to civilize them, and they will soften him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
“We have to civilize a market that has gotten out of control,” said Ms. Colau, a former housing activist who rose to power with an organization that fought against foreclosures.
From New York Times ● Nov. 21, 2021
By the fifth century BCE, some of the larger villages of Macedon grew big enough to be considered cities, and elite Macedonians made efforts to civilize their country in the style of the southern Greeks.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2020
Without dogs, human beings would not have been able to civilize, as they did.
From Salon ● Nov. 10, 2019
"What happened to 'aye'?" "I'm trying to civilize me speech—my speech."
From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood
We sense early on, from Mortensen’s delicate handling of their courtship, that this isn’t some musty rehash of the trope where she civilizes him and he domesticates her.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2024
But there she is, one of the immortal characters of literature, and how can you not fall in love with somebody who civilizes savage people by telling them stories?
From New York Times ● Sep. 4, 2015
Far from revealing our barbarism, fighting civilizes us, Gottschall writes.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 15, 2015
It opened up a discussion about anonymity, pseudonymity and whether using real names civilizes the Internet.
From Forbes ● Oct. 15, 2012
It is she who pre-eminently stimulates the voyage, and plants the colony, and establishes the commerce, and civilizes the people.
From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine — Volume 55, No. 341, March, 1844 by Various
"Such behavior should not be tolerated in the civilized world," Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo said in a statement, thanking US judicial authorities for "their assistance and protection of our citizens."
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
“There used to be a pillory in every civilized town,” Pattinson’s Hansen remarks about the state of justice.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026
Wilson, the food writer, said that lunch is more civilized.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as a civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.
From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2026
It seemed a civilized way of conducting one’s life.
From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers
Heaney was born with a subject he often resisted, and “Digging” turns away from violence to the civilizing necessity of work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
Smith seems to want to say something about the civilizing influence of women and their survival in a world of unruly and domineering men.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 9, 2025
Colonialism, once equated by the West with civilizing progress, became synonymous with iniquity.
From New York Times ● Dec. 10, 2023
What did “the civilizing mission” of industrialized nations entail?
From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022
Mrs. Randall had passed many years before, and it was Alice’s thought that a woman would be a civilizing presence on the plantation.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
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.
