Definitions for civilization
ˌsɪv ə ləˈzeɪ ʃənciv·i·liza·tion

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:2.6 / 7 votes

1. civilization, civilisationnoun

   a society in an advanced state of social development (e.g., with complex legal and political and religious organizations)

   "the people slowly progressed from barbarism to civilization"

2. civilization, civilisationnoun

   the social process whereby societies achieve an advanced stage of development and organization

3. culture, civilization, civilisationnoun

   a particular society at a particular time and place

   "early Mayan civilization"

4. refinement, civilization, civilisationnoun

   the quality of excellence in thought and manners and taste

   "a man of intellectual refinement"; "he is remembered for his generosity and civilization"

WiktionaryRate this definition:2.0 / 2 votes

1. civilizationnoun

   An organized culture encompassing many communities, often on the scale of a nation or a people; a stage or system of social, political or technical development.

2. civilizationnoun

   Human society, particularly civil society.

3. civilizationnoun

   The act or process of civilizing or becoming civilized.

   The teacher's civilization of the child was no easy task.

4. civilizationnoun

   The state or quality of being civilized.

   He was a man of great civilization.

5. civilizationnoun

   The act of rendering a criminal process civil.

6. civilizationnoun

   Collectively, those people of the world considered to have a high standard of behavior and / or a high level of development. Commonly subjectively used by people of one society to exclusively refer to their society, or their elite sub-group, or a few associated societies, implying all others, in time or geography or status, as something less than civilised, as savages or barbarians. cf refinement, elitism, civilised society, the Civilised World

7. Etymology: Confer French.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Civilization

   A civilization (or civilisation) is a complex society that is characterized by urban development, social stratification, a form of government, and symbolic systems of communication (such as writing).Civilizations are intimately associated with and often further defined by other socio-politico-economic characteristics, such as centralization, the domestication of both humans and other organisms, specialization of labour, culturally-ingrained ideologies of progress and supremacism, monumental architecture, taxation, societal dependence upon farming and expansionism.Historically, "a civilization" has often been understood as a larger and "more advanced" culture, in implied contrast to smaller, supposedly primitive cultures. In this broad sense, a civilization contrasts with non-centralized tribal societies, including the cultures of nomadic pastoralists, Neolithic societies or hunter-gatherers; however, sometimes it also contrasts with the cultures found within civilizations themselves. Civilizations are organized densely-populated settlements divided into hierarchical social classes with a ruling elite and subordinate urban and rural populations, which engage in intensive agriculture, mining, small-scale manufacture and trade. Civilization concentrates power, extending human control over the rest of nature, including over other human beings.Civilization, as its etymology (see below) suggests, is a concept originally associated with towns and cities. The earliest emergence of civilizations is generally connected with the final stages of the Neolithic Revolution, culminating in the relatively rapid process of urban revolution and state-formation, a political development associated with the appearance of a governing elite.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. civilization

   Civilization is a complex term, usually referring to a society, culture, or way of life that is considered to be advanced in many aspects such as political, economic, social, and technological organization. It often involves large scale communities who congregate in cities or regions, generally showing characteristics such as written language, development of complex systems of government, job specialization, social stratification, organized religion and the creation and use of complex tools and infrastructure. Civilizations distinguish themselves from other forms of human settlements through their permanence, advancement, and complexity.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Civilizationnoun

   the act of civilizing, or the state of being civilized; national culture; refinement

2. Civilizationnoun

   rendering a criminal process civil

3. Etymology: [Cf. F. civilisation.]

WikidataRate this definition:2.8 / 8 votes

1. Civilization

   Civilisation is a sometimes controversial term that has been used in several related ways. Primarily, the term has been used to refer to the material and instrumental side of human cultures that are complex in terms of technology, science, and division of labor. Such civilizations are generally hierarchical and urbanized. In a classical context, people were called "civilized" to set them apart from barbarians, savages, and primitive peoples while in a modern-day context, "civilized peoples" have been contrasted with indigenous peoples or tribal societies. Use of "civilization" and related concepts are controversial because they may imply superiority and inferiority, and may imply a directionality to social changes that may or may not be realistic or desirable. There is a tendency to use the term in a less strict way, to mean approximately the same thing as "culture" and therefore, the term can more broadly refer to any important and clearly defined human society. Still, even when used in this second sense, the word is often restricted to apply only to societies that have a certain set of characteristics, especially the founding of cities. Formal and informal judgements of how civilized a society is, are generally based on methods and extent of agriculture, trade routes, occupational specialization, a special governing class, and urbanism. Aside from these core elements, a civilization is often marked by any combination of a number of secondary elements, including a developed transportation system, writing, standardized measurement, currency, contractual and tort-based legal systems, characteristic art and architecture, mathematics, enhanced scientific understanding, metallurgy, political structures, and organized religion.

The Roycroft DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. civilization

   A device for increasing human ills; a machine for the perpetuation of the weak; an ingenious contraption for spreading disease and hunger. (See war, harlot, politician, liar, Teddy, Sulzer, Murphy, hypocrisy, newspaper, forger, jail, policemen, lawyer, walking delegate, capitalist, poverty, clergyman.) _E. g._, "Do you believe in civilization?" "Yep." From _The Confessions of Herr Krupp_.

U.S. National Library of MedicineRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Civilization

   The distinctly human attributes and attainments of a particular society.

The Foolish Dictionary, by Gideon WurdzRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. CIVILIZATION

   An upward growth or tendency that has enabled mankind to develop the college yell from what was once only a feeble war-whoop.

Editors ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Civilization

   " It's an amazing form of social, cultural and behavioral discipline which binds intercontinental societies on a single page irrespective of breed, race or religion well above the board."

   
   

   Submitted by Baloch on April 4, 2015  

Matched Categories

1. • Archeology
   • Social Process
   • Society

How to pronounce civilization?

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 civilization in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of civilization in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of civilization in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of civilization in a Sentence

1. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi:

   They are trying, with their barbarism and arrogance, to destroy the inheritance of humanity, the inheritance of Iraqi people and their civilization, [the] same way they destroyed humans, i want to send clear message from here in Baghdad, that we will preserve this human civilization and its inheritance, and we will pursue those who are trying to destroy it.

2. Martin Rees:

   We don't know much about aliens, but we know about humans, if you look at history, contact between humans and less intelligent organisms have often been disastrous from their point of view, and encounters between civilizations with advanced versus primitive technologies have gone badly for the less advanced. A civilization reading one of our messages could be billions of years ahead of us. If so, they will be vastly more powerful, and may not see us as any more valuable than we see bacteria.

3. Martin Luther King, Jr.:

   If you will protest courageously, and yet with dignity and Christian love, when the history books are written in future generations, the historians will have to pause and say, There lived a great people-a black people-who injected new meaning and dignity into the veins of civilization.

4. Kisha James:

   I think that they wanted a token Native, and I think that they were expecting him to sing the praises of the Pilgrims -- to thank them for bringing' civilization' to these shores, they said that he couldn't give that speech because it was too inflammatory and that they'd write him a new one. But he refused to have words put in his mouth.

5. Mehmet Gormez:

   Islam was a religion creating civilization throughout history. When educating Muslim children, clerics should reflect on the comparison between that and today's Koranic interpretations that incite violence.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=civilization
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Civilization
3. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/civilization
6. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=civilization
7. ^ The Roycroft Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/36566/36566-h/36566-h.htm#:~:text=civilization
8. ^ The Foolish Dictionary, by Gideon Wurdz
   https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1989/pg1989-images.html#:~:text=civilization