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civilian definition

ci·vil·ian (sə vil′yən)

noun

  1. any person not an active member of the armed forces or of an official force having police power
  2. Archaic a specialist in civil or Roman law

Etymology: ME < OFr civilien < L civilis, civil

adjective

of or for civilians; nonmilitary

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

civilian Synonyms

civilian

modif.

nonmilitary, unmilitary, nonmilitant, noncombat, noncombatant, pacificist, not in the armed forces, in civilian life, lay, private, in civvies*, in mufti*.


civilian

n.

(private) citizen, noncombatant, person not in the armed forces; see commoner.


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.

civilian Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • kill: Then there are the innocent civilians killed in Iraq.

Preposition: on

  • side: Thankfully we managed to talk to them and say that we would give out the relief supplies to civilians on both sides.

Adjective modifier

  • innocent: The killing of innocent civilians is the issue here.

Modifies a noun

  • casualty: Debt of Honor Register provides the names of Second World War civilian casualties.
civilian 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.

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MLA Style

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

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

APA Style

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

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

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