civil
adjective
civ·il
| \ ˈsi-vəl
\
\
Definition of civil
1a
: of or relating to citizens
civil duties
b
: of or relating to the state or its citizenry
civil strife
2a
: civilized
civil society
b
: adequate in courtesy and politeness : mannerly
a civil question It was hard to be civil when I felt so angry.
3a
: of, relating to, or based on civil law
b
: relating to private rights and to remedies sought by action or suit distinct from criminal proceedings
c
: established by law
civil freedoms
4
: of, relating to, or involving the general public, their activities, needs, or ways, or civic affairs as distinguished from special (such as military or religious) affairs
got married in a civil ceremony
5
of time
: based on the mean sun and legally recognized for use in ordinary affairs
the civil calendar
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Examples of civil in a Sentence
They got married in a civil ceremony at city hall.
It was hard to be civil when I felt so angry.
She was barely civil to me.
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Recent Examples on the Web
Wheeler and her husband, Derek, have two sons: Kyle is a law student at Cleveland Marshall College of Law and Ryan is pursuing a degree in civil engineering at The Ohio State University. — Rich Heileman, cleveland.com, "Berea to host 29th annual Arts Fest: Around The Town," 30 Aug. 2019 And the new nationalists argue that the future of conservatism lies with populist economics, and with a passionate embrace of the nation-state as the organizing principle of political engagement and civil government. — John Hood, National Review, "New Nationalists Make Three Big Bets," 28 Aug. 2019 The rapid growth of the program, which launched last spring, surprised some civil-liberties advocates, who believed fewer than 300 agencies had signed on. — Drew Harwell, Anchorage Daily News, "Doorbell-camera maker Ring has partnered with 400 police forces, extending surveillance reach," 28 Aug. 2019 Yet there haven't been many ongoing efforts to do so over the years, despite a great deal of research on manmade civil structures. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "Popular Utah rock-climbing spot vibrates in time with earth, wind, and waves," 27 Aug. 2019 In advance of the Waymo civil trial, US District Judge William Alsup referred the case to the Department of Justice for possible criminal charges. — Aarian Marshall, WIRED, "Ex-Uber Engineer Levandowski Charged With Trade-Secret Theft," 27 Aug. 2019 Other political and civil society leaders as well as celebrities around the world have also called for an end to the destruction of the forest. — Christina Maxouris, CNN, "Justin Trudeau says Canada will send water bombers and $15 million to help fight Amazon fires," 27 Aug. 2019 The two pleaded not guilty but agreed to an $869,000 civil settlement. — Julia Sclafani, Daily Pilot, "Huntington Beach man, a former church chairman, charged with stealing $11.4 million from church assets," 27 Aug. 2019 Castro, who worked with Biden in the Obama administration chastised the former vice president who said immigration should be a civil violation. — Fortune, "Biden and Harris Fend Off Attacks in Testy Second Democratic Debate," 1 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'civil.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for civil
civil
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of civil
: of or relating to the people who live in a country
: of or relating to the regular business of the people in a city, town, state, etc. : not connected to the military or to a religion
: polite but not friendly : only as polite as a person needs to be in order to not be rude
See the full definition for civil in the English Language Learners Dictionary
civil
adjective
civ·il
| \ ˈsi-vəl
\
\
Kids Definition of civil
1
: of or relating to citizens
civil rights
2
: of or relating to matters within a country
3
: of or relating to the regular business of citizens or government that is not connected to the military or a religion
4
: polite without being friendly
Those men, they used to be best friends. Now they can't be civil with each other.— Karen Hesse, Out of the Dust
5
: relating to laws about private rights rather than criminal laws
She brought a civil lawsuit against the maker of the defective car.