Definitions for civil
ˈsɪv əlciv·il

Princeton's WordNet(5.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. civil(adj)

   applying to ordinary citizens as contrasted with the military

   "civil authorities"

2. civil, polite(adj)

   not rude; marked by satisfactory (or especially minimal) adherence to social usages and sufficient but not noteworthy consideration for others

   "even if he didn't like them he should have been civil"- W.S. Maugham

3. civil(adj)

   of or occurring within the state or between or among citizens of the state

   "civil affairs"; "civil strife"; "civil disobedience"; "civil branches of government"

4. civil, civic(adj)

   of or relating to or befitting citizens as individuals

   "civil rights"; "civil liberty"; "civic duties"; "civic pride"

5. civil(adj)

   (of divisions of time) legally recognized in ordinary affairs of life

   "the civil calendar"; "a civil day begins at mean midnight"

6. civil(adj)

   of or in a condition of social order

   "civil peoples"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. civil(Adjective)

   Having to do with people and government office as opposed to the military or religion.

   She went into civil service because she wanted to help the people.

   Etymology: From civilis, from civis.

2. civil(Adjective)

   Behaving in a reasonable or polite manner.

   It was very civil of him to stop the argument.

   Etymology: From civilis, from civis.

Webster Dictionary(2.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Civil(adj)

   pertaining to a city or state, or to a citizen in his relations to his fellow citizens or to the state; within the city or state

   Etymology: [L. civilis, fr. civis citizen: cf. F. civil. See City.]

2. Civil(adj)

   subject to government; reduced to order; civilized; not barbarous; -- said of the community

   Etymology: [L. civilis, fr. civis citizen: cf. F. civil. See City.]

3. Civil(adj)

   performing the duties of a citizen; obedient to government; -- said of an individual

   Etymology: [L. civilis, fr. civis citizen: cf. F. civil. See City.]

4. Civil(adj)

   having the manners of one dwelling in a city, as opposed to those of savages or rustics; polite; courteous; complaisant; affable

   Etymology: [L. civilis, fr. civis citizen: cf. F. civil. See City.]

5. Civil(adj)

   pertaining to civic life and affairs, in distinction from military, ecclesiastical, or official state

   Etymology: [L. civilis, fr. civis citizen: cf. F. civil. See City.]

6. Civil(adj)

   relating to rights and remedies sought by action or suit distinct from criminal proceedings

   Etymology: [L. civilis, fr. civis citizen: cf. F. civil. See City.]

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Civil

   siv′il, adj. pertaining to the community: having the refinement of city-bred people: polite: commercial, not military: lay, secular, or temporal, not ecclesiastical: pertaining to the individual citizen: (law) relating to private relations amongst citizens, and such suits as arise out of these, as opposed to criminal: (theol.) naturally good, as opposed to good through regeneration.—ns. Civil′ian, a professor or student of civil law (not canon law): one engaged in civil as distinguished from military and other pursuits; Civ′ilist, one versed in civil law; Civil′ity, good-breeding: politeness.—adv. Civ′illy.—adj. Civ′il-suit′ed (Milton), sombrely clad.—n. Civ′ism, good citizenship, state of being well-affected to the government.—Civil death, the loss of all civil and legal but not natural privileges, as by outlawry: Civil engineer, one who plans rail-ways, docks, &c., as opposed to a military engineer, or to a mechanical engineer, who makes machines, &c.; Civil law, as opposed to criminal law: the law laid down by a state regarding the rights of the inhabitants; Civil list, now the expenses of the sovereign's household only; Civil list pensions, those granted by royal favour; Civil service, the paid service of the state, in so far as it is not military or naval; Civil war, a war between citizens of the same state. [L. civīlis—civis.]

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. civil

   Relating to citizens.

   The civil rights were create easily and efficiently in partnership with local unity government members.

   Submitted by MaryC on March 31, 2020  

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'civil' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1152

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'civil' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2255

3. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'civil' in Adjectives Frequency: #144

How to pronounce civil?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say civil in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of civil in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of civil in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of civil in a Sentence

1. David Uhlmann:

   If the software were installed for other purposes, Volkswagen would not have a defense in any civil penalty action but could in a criminal case.

2. Haydn Long:

   What we saw a few years back, when there was civil unrest, was that people still traveled, they just perhaps stayed in Bangkok for one night instead of two or simply stayed away from those areas most affected.

3. Ambika Ahuja:

   The symbolic power that Thaksin and his sister carries is still something the military is very much concerned about, (But) his network of regional politicians, local civil servants, and business people has been weakened and disrupted over the years.

4. Donald Trump:

   I cannot believe how civil it's been up here.

5. Maatje Benassi:

   Law enforcement will tell you that there's nothing that we can do about it because we have free speech in this country. Then they say,' Go talk to a civil attorney,' so we did. We talked to an attorney. You quickly realize that for folks like us, it's just too expensive to litigate something like this. We get no recourse from law enforcement. We get no recourse from the courts.

Images & Illustrations of civil

Popularity rank by frequency of use