Definitions for civil
ˈsɪv əlciv·il

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

1. civiladjective

   applying to ordinary citizens as contrasted with the military

   "civil authorities"

2. civil, politeadjective

   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. civiladjective

   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, civicadjective

   of or relating to or befitting citizens as individuals

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

5. civiladjective

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

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

6. civiladjective

   of or in a condition of social order

   "civil peoples"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. civiladjective

   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.

2. civiladjective

   Behaving in a reasonable or polite manner.

   It was very civil of him to stop the argument.

3. Etymology: From civilis, from civis.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. CIVILadjective

   Etymology: civilis, Latin.

   1. Relating to the community; political; relating to the city or government.

   God gave them laws of civil regimen, and would not permit their commonweal to be governed by any other laws than his own. Richard Hooker, b. iii. s. 11.

   Part such as appertain
   To civil justice; part, religious rites
   Of sacrifice. John Milton, Paradise Lost, b. xii. l. 231.

   But there is another unity, which would be most advantageous to our country; and that is your endeavour after a civil, a political union in the whole nation. Thomas Sprat, Sermon.

   2. Relating to any man as a member of a community.

   Break not your promise, unless it be unlawful or impossible; either out of your natural, or out of your civil power. Taylor.

   3. Not in anarchy; not wild; not without rule or government.

   For rudest minds with harmony were caught,
   And civil life was by the muses taught. Wentworth Dillon.

   4. Not foreign; intestine.

   From a civil war, God of his mercy defend us, as that which is most desperate of all others. Francis Bacon, to Villers.

   5. Not ecclesiastical; as, the ecclesiastical courts are controlled by the civil.6. Not natural; as, a person banished or outlawed is said to suffer civil, though not natural death.7. Not military; as, the civil magistrates authority is obstructed by war.8. Not criminal; as, This is a civil process, not a criminal prosecution.9. Civilised; not barbarous.

   England was very rude and barbarous; for it is but even the other day since England grew civil. Edmund Spenser, on Ireland.

   10. Complaisant; civilised; gentle; well bred; elegant of manners; not rude; not brutal; not coarse.

   I heard a mermaid, on a dolphin’s back,
   Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath,
   That the rude sea grew civil at her song. William Shakespeare.

   He was civil and well natured, never refusing to teach another. John Dryden, Dufresnoy.

   And fall these sayings from that gentle tongue,
   Where civil speech and soft persuasion hung. Matthew Prior.

   11. Grave; sober; not gay or shewy.

   Thus night oft see me in thy pale career,
   ’Till civil suited morn appear. John Milton, Poems.

   12. Relating to the ancient consular or imperial government; as, civil law.

   No woman had it, but a civil doctor. William Shakespeare, Merch. of Ven.

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

1. Civiladjective

   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

2. Civiladjective

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

3. Civiladjective

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

4. Civiladjective

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

5. Civiladjective

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

6. Civiladjective

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

7. 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

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

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. Vitali Klitschko:

   If escalation goes up... We have to be ready to defend our independence and integrity of our country -- and civil defense also have [ sic ] to be prepared, we hope this never happens, this [ is ] worst case, but we have to be prepared.

2. David McNair:

   Botswana's civil registration statistics are over two decades out of date. At the same time the country is being photographed by satellite every 24 hours, these photographs could be used to understand where people are living in poverty, how crops are growing, where governments or donors need to make early interventions to avoid hunger and malnutrition.

3. Joseph Votel:

   Votel told Fox News’ Catherine Herridge. The intent is to create a situation where NATO can't continue to thrive. Votel said he did not have unique insights into Russian President Vladimir Putin but he believes Putin sees the expansion of NATO ...as a threat to him and I think what they (Moscow) are attempting to do is create these frozen conflicts and create situations that are very, very difficult to resolve along their border. That does, could pose an existential threat, Votel added. He also said Russia is using a hybrid approach to warfare where state and non-state actors are mixing military and non-military capabilities. The result is a coercive effect...using information operations, using manipulation of media , using social media. Since January, Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia – three traditional U.S. allies - have completed significant nuclear energy deals with Russia. Asked if this is evidence of Putin's effort to further expand Russia’s reach, and the seeds of a nuclear arms race in the Middle East, Votel replied it was proof of Moscow's push to challenge the U.S. and expand its influence. Votel said SOCOM is assisting those countries that want to resist Russian influence. We work with partners to help develop their capabilities, we help our embassies with some of their messaging activities that they are doing out there to make sure that truthful information is getting out to populations. We use our civil affairs capability to help connect governments to their populations and strengthen those relationships. In doing that, (we) reduce those vulnerabilities of populations who may be vulnerable to this type of pressure they get from outside countries . Asked about Al Qaeda, Votel said the terror group was diminished in east Africa, Syria and Yemen, but the lesson of the last decade is that the U.S. and its allies must maintain pressure or the groups will reinvent and reconstitute. The leader of Al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, is believed to be in Pakistan, and has been noticeably silent on the June drone strike that killed the organization's number two , Naser al Wuhayishi, who also was the leader of the Al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen. To me it is a good sign it’s an indication that we have been very effective at isolating him so that is kind of my initial reaction.

4. An Education:

   The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) strives to ensure the Civil Rights Data Collection(CRDC) data are an accurate and comprehensive depiction of student access to educational opportunities in school districts, for the 2021-22 CRDC, OCR will continue to collect data on the number of documented incidents of offenses committed by school staff, including rape or attempted rape, and sexual assault.These are data the CRDC has collected since 2015-16. We propose retiring data on the number of allegations made against school staff to reduce burden and duplication of data.This is a proposal and OCR welcomes feedbackon this proposal from the public during the 60-day comment period.

5. Pamela Keith:

   I've never seen a case where all five employees of The EEO Department are essentially claiming collusion to violate someone's civil rights, the whole department is telling the same tale.

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