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• civil war
  civil war

  noun

  a war between political factions or regions within the same country.
• Civil War
  Civil War

  noun

  English history the conflict between Charles I and the Parliamentarians resulting from disputes over their respective prerogatives. Parliament gained decisive victories at Marston Moor in 1644 and Naseby in 1645, and Charles was executed in 1649

civil war

American  

[siv-uhl wawr] / ˈsɪv əl ˈwɔr /

noun

• civil wars
  plural

1. a war between political factions or regions within the same country.

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civil war ¹ British  

noun

1. war between parties, factions, or inhabitants of different regions within the same nation

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Civil War ² British  

noun

1. English history the conflict between Charles I and the Parliamentarians resulting from disputes over their respective prerogatives. Parliament gained decisive victories at Marston Moor in 1644 and Naseby in 1645, and Charles was executed in 1649

2. history the war fought from 1861 to 1865 between the North and the South, sparked off by Lincoln's election as president but with deep-rooted political and economic causes, exacerbated by the slavery issue. The advantages of the North in terms of population, finance, and communications brought about the South's eventual surrender at Appomattox

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Civil War Cultural  

1. The war fought in the United States between northern (Union) and southern (Confederate) states from 1861 to 1865, in which the Confederacy sought to establish itself as a separate nation. The Civil War is also known as the War for Southern Independence and as the War between the States. The war grew out of deep-seated differences between the social structure and economy of North and South, most notably over slavery; generations of political maneuvers had been unable to overcome these differences (see Missouri Compromise and Compromise of 1850). The secession of the southern states began in late 1860, after Abraham Lincoln was elected president. The Confederacy was formed in early 1861. The fighting began with the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter. Most of the battles took place in the South, but one extremely crucial episode, the Battle of Gettysburg, was fought in the North. The war ended with the surrender of General Robert E. Lee to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House. (See Battle of Bull Run, Battle of Chancellorsville, Emancipation Proclamation, and Sherman's march to the sea.)

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The Civil War has been the most serious test yet of the ability of the United States to remain one nation.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• civil wars
  plural

Etymology

Origin of civil war

First recorded in 1540–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

civil war Civil War

The Houthis, whose heartland is among Yemen's Zaidi Muslims in the country's north, seized the capital Sanaa in 2014 at the outset of the civil war, driving the government to Aden in the south.

From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026

The civil war left the country effectively split into two states, with the Houthis in control of large areas of the north.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

The fighting shows no sign of easing - despite the expected arrival of international diplomats in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, for consultations aimed at ending the civil war.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

He arrived in the U.S. at age 19, just over two years after he was forced to join the Salvadoran army at the outbreak of the nation’s brutal civil war.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

The ferocity of the civil war was exacerbated by the epidemic’s impact on a peculiarly Andean institution: royal mummies.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

As of last week, 104 laws have been enacted in the current Congress, putting it on pace for fewer than any of its predecessors since the Civil War.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

In “A Moment in the Sun,” Shane White has created a remarkable portrait of black life in Manhattan that reveals the possibilities and limits of freedom during the 50 years preceding the Civil War.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

The court’s size rose to 10 by around the Civil War and the creation of the 10th U.S.

From Slate ● Sep. 3, 2026

These letters haven’t been issued since the Civil War, but the parallel is obvious and creates shades of gray that could present major problems.

From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026

The Civil War had consumed most of the good horses in the South; they were scarce and valuable.

From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson