DictionaryAI

civil

adjective
SIV-uhl/ˈsɪv.əl/

6 meanings of civil

Practice

  1. 1
    of citizensadjective
    Relating to citizens and the offices of government, as opposed to the military or religion.

    After the coup, the generals promised a quick return to civil rule.

    Control of the airports passed from military to civil authorities last spring.

    UsageUsually before a noun: civil rule, civil authorities, the civil service; no more civil in this meaning.

    Similarcivilian, nonmilitary

    Oppositemilitary

    Note

    Tennyson's "the chairs and thrones of civil power" (1850) shows its long pairing with power and office.

  2. 2
    internal conflictadjective
    Taking place among groups of citizens of a single country, not between different nations.

    The rival factions slid into civil conflict soon after the election results were announced.

    Decades of civil strife had emptied the villages along the border.

    UsageUsually before a noun: civil war, civil strife. Talks that stayed civil use the polite meaning instead.

    Similarinternal, domestic

    Oppositeinternational

    Note

    The Latin root explains the sense: cīvīlis meant relating to a citizen, from cīvis, so a civil conflict is one fought among citizens rather than against a foreign power.

  3. 3
    private lawsuitadjective
    Relating to legal disputes between private citizens or organizations, as opposed to criminal matters.

    The family pursued a civil suit against the driver after the criminal trial ended.

    Most civil disputes settle long before they reach a courtroom.

    UsageSet against criminal: you bring or file a civil suit against someone, a civil case.

    Oppositecriminal

    Note

    The lawyer's sense is defined by its opposite: a civil case is not a criminal one. In a civil suit one party sues another, usually for damages or another remedy. In US courts, the claim is usually proved by a preponderance of the evidence, not beyond a reasonable doubt. One act can lead to both kinds of case, as when a driver is tried for a crime and then sued by a victim's family.

    Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

    • A civil case is distinct from a criminal case. uscourts.gov
    • Civil suits can also involve government bodies as parties. en.wikipedia.org
    • Civil suits seek damages or another remedy. uscourts.gov
    • Preponderance is the usual standard in US civil litigation; some cases require a higher standard, such as clear and convincing evidence. supremecourt.gov
    • The same conduct can lead to criminal proceedings against a driver and a civil suit by a victim's family. en.wikipedia.org
  4. 4
    politeadjective
    Behaving in a reasonable, polite manner, without open displays of hostility.

    Despite their bitter divorce, they managed to remain civil at family gatherings.

    The debate stayed civil until the moderator raised the budget question.

    UsageSay be civil to someone, or it was civil of him to help. Merely civil suggests cool, not warm.

    Similarpolite, courteous, respectful

    Oppositerude, impolite, inconsiderate

  5. 5
    not religiousadjective
    Secular; relating to nonreligious institutions or ceremonies rather than those of a church.

    They opted for a civil ceremony at the courthouse rather than a church wedding.

    They had a civil ceremony at city hall in the morning and a church wedding with their families in the afternoon.

    UsageMostly before ceremony, wedding or marriage: a civil ceremony at city hall, not a church one.

    Similarsecular, nonreligious

    Oppositereligious, ecclesiastical

    Note

    Theology keeps this sense sharpest, setting civil against spiritual. Roger Williams's The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution (1644) contrasts "civil goodness or virtue, in a commonwealth" with "spiritual good, or religion, in the church". John Calvin reports one reading of a "civil sanctity", meaning standing before the law, such as legitimacy, rather than before God. Everyday English uses it for the nonreligious half of a pair, as in a civil wedding versus a church one.

    Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Roger Williams wrote The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution, published in 1644. gutenberg.org
    • Williams's work contrasts civil goodness in a commonwealth with spiritual good in the church; the dialogue's speaker is Truth. gutenberg.org
    • Calvin reports an interpretation of civil sanctity as legal legitimacy rather than spiritual holiness. sacred-texts.com

Less common meaning

  1. 6
    peacefuladjectivearchaic
    In a peaceful and well-ordered condition, free from disturbance or disorder.
    Herein thou haſt done good ſeruice to thy country: VVere all inhumaine ſlaues ſo ſerued as he, England would be ciuill, and from all ſuch dealings free.
    1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw
    Note

    A word from the early modern commonwealth. In The Life and Death of Iacke Straw (1593), Parson Ball hopes that "England would be ciuill", meaning settled and at peace, free from abuses like those of the tax collector Jack Straw has just struck down. The sense is archaic now. A modern reader will hear the polite meaning instead, so outside historical pastiche write peaceful or orderly.

    Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • This sense is attested in early modern English. en.wiktionary.org
    • The quoted words occur in the play. en.wiktionary.org
    • Parson Ball speaks after Jack Straw kills a tax collector who abused his daughter. “Such dealings” refers to abuses like the collector's, rather than rebellion. gutenberg.org

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of civil apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

Latin cīvis ("citizen") gave cīvīlis ("relating to a citizen"), which reached English by way of Old French and Middle English.