'Civil' definitions:
Definition of 'civil'
From: WordNet
adjective
Applying to ordinary citizens as contrasted with the military; "civil authorities"
adjective
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 [syn: civil, polite] [ant: rude, uncivil]
adjective
Of or occurring within the state or between or among citizens of the state; "civil affairs"; "civil strife"; "civil disobedience"; "civil branches of government"
adjective
Of or relating to or befitting citizens as individuals; "civil rights"; "civil liberty"; "civic duties"; "civic pride" [syn: civil, civic]
adjective
(of divisions of time) legally recognized in ordinary affairs of life; "the civil calendar"; "a civil day begins at mean midnight" [ant: sidereal]
adjective
Of or in a condition of social order; "civil peoples"
Definition of 'Civil'
From: GCIDE
- Civil \Civ"il\, a. [L. civilis, fr. civis citizen: cf. F. civil. See City.]
- 1. 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. [1913 Webster]
- 2. Subject to government; reduced to order; civilized; not barbarous; -- said of the community. [1913 Webster]
- England was very rude and barbarous; for it is but even the other day since England grew civil. --Spenser. [1913 Webster]
- 3. Performing the duties of a citizen; obedient to government; -- said of an individual. [1913 Webster]
- Civil men come nearer the saints of God than others; they come within a step or two of heaven. --Preston [1913 Webster]
- 4. Having the manners of one dwelling in a city, as opposed to those of savages or rustics; polite; courteous; complaisant; affable. [1913 Webster]
- Note: "A civil man now is one observant of slight external courtesies in the mutual intercourse between man and man; a civil man once was one who fulfilled all the duties and obligations flowing from his position as a 'civis' and his relations to the other members of that 'civitas.'" --Trench [1913 Webster]
- 5. Pertaining to civic life and affairs, in distinction from military, ecclesiastical, or official state. [1913 Webster]
- 6. Relating to rights and remedies sought by action or suit distinct from criminal proceedings. [1913 Webster]
- Civil action, an action to enforce the rights or redress the wrongs of an individual, not involving a criminal proceeding.
- Civil architecture, the architecture which is employed in constructing buildings for the purposes of civil life, in distinction from military and naval architecture, as private houses, palaces, churches, etc.
- Civil death. (Law.) See under Death.
- Civil engineering. See under Engineering.
- Civil law. See under Law.
- Civil list. See under List.
- Civil remedy (Law), that given to a person injured, by action, as opposed to a criminal prosecution.
- Civil service, all service rendered to and paid for by the state or nation other than that pertaining to naval or military affairs.
- Civil service reform, the substitution of business principles and methods for the spoils system in the conduct of the civil service, esp. in the matter of appointments to office.
- Civil state, the whole body of the laity or citizens not included under the military, maritime, and ecclesiastical states.
- Civil suit. Same as Civil action.
- Civil war. See under War.
- Civil year. See under Year. [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'civil'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- absolute,
- accommodating,
- affable,
- agreeable,
- amiable,
- appropriate,
- aristocratic,
- attentive,
- authoritarian,
- autocratic,
- autonomous,
- becoming,
- bland,
- bureaucratic,
- civic,
- civilian,
- civilized,
- clubbable,
- clubbish,
- clubby,
- common,
- communal,
- communicative,
- companionable,
- companionate,
- compatible,
- complaisant,
- congenial,
- congregational,
- considerate,
- constitutional,
- cordial,
- cosmopolitan,
- courteous,
- courtly,
- cultivated,
- decent,
- decorous,
- deferential,
- democratic,
- despotic,
- dictatorial,
- diplomatic,
- domestic,
- fair,
- fascist,
- federal,
- federalist,
- federalistic,
- felicitous,
- fit for society,
- fitting,
- fond of society,
- formal,
- friendly,
- general,
- genial,
- genteel,
- governmental,
- graceful,
- gracious,
- gregarious,
- gubernatorial,
- happy,
- heteronomous,
- hospitable,
- impolite,
- internal,
- international,
- laic,
- laical,
- lay,
- mannered,
- mannerly,
- matriarchal,
- matriarchic,
- meet,
- monarchal,
- monarchial,
- monarchic,
- monocratic,
- national,
- nonclerical,
- nonecclesiastical,
- nonministerial,
- nonordained,
- nonpastoral,
- nonreligious,
- obliging,
- official,
- oligarchal,
- oligarchic,
- parliamentarian,
- parliamentary,
- patriarchal,
- patriarchic,
- pluralistic,
- polished,
- polite,
- politic,
- political,
- popular,
- proper,
- public,
- refined,
- republican,
- respectful,
- right,
- secular,
- secularist,
- secularistic,
- seemly,
- self-governing,
- sociable,
- social,
- social-minded,
- societal,
- solicitous,
- state,
- suave,
- suitable,
- supranational,
- tactful,
- temporal,
- theocratic,
- thoughtful,
- totalitarian,
- ungracious,
- urbane,
- well-bred,
- well-mannered
Words containing 'Civil'
- Civilities,
- Civility,
- Civilization,
- Civilize,
- Civilized,
- Civilizer,
- Civilizing,
- Civil action,
- Civil architecture,
- Civil day,
- Civil death,
- Civil engineer,
- Civil engineering,
- Civil law,
- Civil liberty,
- Civil list,
- Civil remedy,
- Civil service,
- Civil state,
- Civil suit,
- Civil time,
- Civil war,
- Civil year,
- Code civil,
- Hallstatt civilization,
- Hallstattian civilization,
- aegean civilization,
- civil authority,
- civil censorship,
- civil ceremony,
- civil contempt,
- civil defense,
- civil disobedience,
- civil leader,
- civil libertarian,
- civil marriage,
- civil officer,
- civil order,
- civil right,
- civil rights,
- civil servant,
- civil union,
- civil wrong,
- cycladic civilization,
- helladic civilization,
- indus civilization,
- jus civile,
- minoan civilization,
- mycenaean civilization,
- western civilization,
- Civil Service Commission,
- Civil Service Reform,
- american civil war,
- civil rights activist,
- civil rights leader,
- civil rights movement,
- civil rights worker,
- civil-libertarian,
- english civil war,
- spanish civil war,
- uncivilized vs civilized,
- international civil aviation organization,
- united states civil war