civilization
English · Thesaurus
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civilization
- /ˌsɪv.ɪ.laɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/ UK
- /ˌsɪv.ə.laɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/ Canada, US
- /ˌsɪv.ə.ləˈzeɪ.ʃən/ Canada, US
- /ˌsɪv.ə.lɑeˈzæɪ.ʃən/ Australia
- /ˌsəv.ə.laɪˈzæɪ.ʃən/ New Zealand
- [ˌsəv.ə.lɑe̯ˈzæɪ.ʃən] New Zealand
Where it comes from
Borrowed from French civilisation, equivalent to civilize + -ation or civil + -ization.
noun civilizations · civilisation
- 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. the Aztec civilization
-
Human society, particularly civil society.
A hermit doesn't much care for civilization.
Similar: home, land of the living
-
The act or process of civilizing or becoming civilized.
The teacher's civilization of the child was no easy task.
Similar: education, acculturation
- The state or quality of being civilized. He was a man of great civilization.
- The act of rendering a criminal process civil.
Similar: sphere
proper noun civilisation
-
Collectively, those people and places 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. (Compare refinement, elitism, civilised society, the Civilised World.
Near-synonym: ecumene (archaic)
Similar: ecumene · Opposite: wilderness, wilds, anecumene
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: society, culture, cultural, civilized, civil, civilisation, civilised, enlightenment, civility, decency, ming, cmc, myung, civilisations, cmcc, development
noun
Similar: sphere
Translations
Every language
noun organized culture
| Español | civilización |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 문명 munmyeong |
| 日本語 | 文明 bunmei |
| 中文 | 文明 wénmíng |
| हिन्दी | सभ्यता sabhyatā, संस्कृति sanskŕti |
| Kiswahili | ustaarabu |
| Português | civilização |
| Français | civilisation |
| Deutsch | Zivilisation, Kultur |
| Italiano | civiltà |
| Ελληνικά | πολιτισμός politismós |
| Română | civilizație, cultură |
| Русский | цивилиза́ция civilizácija, культу́ра kulʹtúra |
| Tiếng Việt | văn minh |
| العربية | حَضَارَة ḥaḍāra, تَمَدُّن tamaddun, مَدَنِيَّة madaniyya |
| עברית | צִיוִילִיזַצְיָה, ציוויליזציה tsivilizátsia |
noun human society
| हिन्दी | सभ्यता sabhyatā |
|---|---|
| Português | civilização |
| Deutsch | Kultur |
| Italiano | civiltà |
| Ελληνικά | πολιτισμός politismós |
| Română | civilizație |
| Русский | цивилиза́ция civilizácija, культу́ра kulʹtúra |
| עברית | צִיוִילִיזַצְיָה, ציוויליזציה tsivilizátsia |
noun act or process of civilizing or becoming civilized
| 한국어 | 문명화 munmyeonghwa |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 文明化 bunmeika |
| 中文 | 文明化 wénmínhuà |
| Português | civilização |
| Deutsch | Zivilisiertwerden |
| Italiano | civilizzazione |
| Ελληνικά | πολιτισμός politismós |
| Română | civilizare |
| Русский | цивилиза́ция civilizácija |
| العربية | تَثْقِيف taṯqīf |
noun state or quality of being civilized
| हिन्दी | सभ्यता sabhyatā |
|---|---|
| Português | civilização |
| Italiano | civiltà |
| Ελληνικά | πολιτισμός politismós |
| Română | civilitate |
| Русский | цивилизо́ванность civilizóvannostʹ, культу́ра kulʹtúra |
name people of the world considered to have a high standard of behavior
| 한국어 | 교양인 gyoyang'in |
|---|---|
| Português | civilização |
| Deutsch | Zivilisation |
| Italiano | civiltà, civilizzazione |
| Русский | цивилиза́ция civilizácija |
Talk about this word "civilization." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/civilization. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. civilization. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/civilization "civilization." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/civilization.Cite this
@misc{civilization_2026,
title = {civilization},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/civilization},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
