'Civilize' definitions:
Definition of 'civilize'
(from WordNet)
verb
Teach or refine to be discriminative in taste or judgment; "Cultivate your musical taste"; "Train your tastebuds"; "She is well schooled in poetry" [syn: educate, school, train, cultivate, civilize, civilise]
verb
Raise from a barbaric to a civilized state; "The wild child found wandering in the forest was gradually civilized" [syn: civilize, civilise]
Definition of 'Civilize'
From: GCIDE
- Civilize \Civ"i*lize\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Civilized; p. pr. & vb. n. Civilizing.] [Cf. F. civilizer, fr.L. civilis civil. See Civil.]
- 1. To reclaim from a savage state; to instruct in the rules and customs of civilization; to educate; to refine. [1913 Webster]
- Yet blest that fate which did his arms dispose Her land to civilize, as to subdue. --Dryden [1913 Webster]
- 2. To admit as suitable to a civilized state. [Obs. or R.] "Civilizing adultery." --Milton.
- Syn: To polish; refine; humanize. [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'civilize'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- acculturate,
- advance,
- ameliorate,
- amend,
- anthropomorphize,
- better,
- boost,
- bring forward,
- broaden,
- broaden the mind,
- catechize,
- demonstrate,
- direct,
- domesticate,
- edify,
- educate,
- elevate,
- emend,
- enhance,
- enlighten,
- enrich,
- fatten,
- favor,
- forward,
- foster,
- give instruction,
- give lessons in,
- go straight,
- ground,
- guide,
- humanize,
- illumine,
- improve,
- improve upon,
- inform,
- instruct,
- lard,
- lift,
- make an improvement,
- make human,
- meliorate,
- mend,
- nurture,
- open the eyes,
- polish,
- promote,
- raise,
- reeducate,
- refine,
- refine upon,
- reform,
- school,
- set right,
- sharpen the wits,
- show,
- show how,
- socialize,
- straighten out,
- tame,
- teach,
- teach a lesson,
- teach the rudiments,
- transfigure,
- transform,
- upgrade,
- uplift
Words containing 'Civilize'
- Civil,
- Civilities,
- Civility,
- Civilization,
- 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