civil Hear it!

civil definition

civil (siv′əl)

adjective

  1. of a citizen or citizens civil rights
  2. of a community of citizens, their government, or their interrelations civil service, civil war
  3. cultured; civilized
  4. polite or courteous, esp. in a merely formal way
  5. of citizens in procedures or matters that are not military or religious civil marriage
  6. designating legally recognized divisions of time a civil year
  7. of or according to Roman civil law or modern civil law
  8. Law relating to the private rights of individuals and to legal actions involving these

Etymology: OFr < L civilis < civis: see home

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

law civil definition - legal

civil Synonyms

civil

modif.

  1. Civic

    local, civic, public, civilian; see municipal, public 2.

  2. Polite

    courteous, formal, cordial; see polite 1. See syn. study at polite.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

civil Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • servant: Asylum seekers children campaign update Now civil servants have outlined some timescales which will be reported to UNISON's Social Work Issues Group.

Modifying Another Word

  • only: Ceremonies Austrian law recognizes only civil marriages however, a religious ceremony may be performed after a civil marriage has been solemnized.

Used with adjective complement

  • include: Boundary categories include civil, judicial and ecclesiastical with some overlap.
civil usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

civil quotes

From hence, let fierce contending nations know What dire effects from civil discord flow.

-Addison,Joseph

She was nothing more than a mere good-tempered, civil and obliging young woman; as such we could scarcely dislike heröshe was onlyan Object of Contempt.

-Austen,Jane

   In civil business;What first? Boldness;What second, and third? Boldness. And yet boldness is a child of ignorance and baseness.

-Bacon, Francis,Viscount St Albans

civil quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"civil." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/civil>

APA Style

civil. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/civil

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