civilized
having an advanced or humane culture, society, etc.
polite; well-bred; refined.
of or relating to civilized people: The civilized world must fight ignorance.
easy to manage or control; well organized or ordered: The car is quiet and civilized, even in sharp turns.
Origin of civilized
1Other words from civilized
- civ·i·liz·ed·ness [siv-uh-lahy-zid-nis, -lahyzd], /ˈsɪv əˌlaɪ zɪd nɪs, -ˌlaɪzd/, noun
- half-civ·il·ized, adjective
- hy·per·civ·i·lized, adjective
- non·civ·i·lized, adjective
- sub·civ·i·lized, adjective
- su·per·civ·i·lized, adjective
- ul·tra·civ·i·lized, adjective
- well-civ·i·lized, adjective
Words Nearby civilized
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use civilized in a sentence
Although it sounds like you just put your house shoes in the microwave, the process can be more civilized than that.
That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.
The Economic Case for Vaccine Passports - Facts So Romantic | Robert H. Frank | August 17, 2021 | NautilusHe began by saying that “England and all civilized nations stand in deadly peril,” variously referring to “a colossal problem” of “urgent importance,” an “impending catastrophe,” and “a life-and-death question for generations to come.”
His 2015 paper, “A SARS-like cluster of circulating bat coronaviruses shows potential for human emergence,” was a tour de force, utilizing bleeding-edge genetic technology to alert the civilized world to a looming danger on its periphery.
Inside the risky bat-virus engineering that links America to Wuhan | Rowan Jacobsen | June 29, 2021 | MIT Technology ReviewA civilized society protects children and vulnerable populations.
The last six months have been a stark reminder of the brutality that lurks at the boundaries of civilized society.
All Aboard the USS Persecution Complex | Candida Moss, Joel Baden | October 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTA mark of the civilized person is that he in no way luxuriates in his violence.
Thank Goodness We’ve Got A Plan! Let the War Begin! | Michael Carson | September 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn any other civilized nation this effort at some kind of summer escape would barely raise an eyebrow.
Obama’s Extravagant Summer Break? More Like, America’s Vacation-Deficit Disorder | Clive Irving | August 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAn innocent person condemned by law is perhaps the most horrifying thing a civilized society can acknowledge.
Crime Fighter’s Dilemma: My Country or My Family? | Moral Courage | April 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIt means being more civilized, and treating breaking up as an opportunity for personal growth.
Who could suppose that two tolerably civilized nations would endure this in the middle of 1851?
Glances at Europe | Horace GreeleyThen we are again overgrown boys, beings of inferior race and incapable of being civilized.
The Philippine Islands | John ForemanHereditary legislation in the twentieth century and the most civilized country in the world!
Ancestors | Gertrude AthertonThe critical moralist pauses before the formidable array of the entire social world, civilized and savage.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.There is nothing picturesque in those old towns, for they were dead before they were civilized.
Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton
British Dictionary definitions for civilized
civilised
/ (ˈsɪvɪˌlaɪzd) /
having a high state of culture and social development
cultured; polite: a civilized discussion
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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