English Explanatory Dictionary

civilization

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. 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.
  2. Human society, particularly civil society.
  3. The act or process of civilizing or becoming civilized.
  4. The state or quality of being civilized.
  5. The act of rendering a criminal process civil.
name
  1. 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.

Pronunciation

/ˌsɪv.ɪ.laɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/ /ˌsɪv.ə.laɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/ /ˌsɪv.ə.ləˈzeɪ.ʃən/ En-us-civilization.ogg /ˌsɪv.ə.lɑeˈzæɪ.ʃən/ /ˌsəv.ə.laɪˈzæɪ.ʃən/ [ˌsəv.ə.lɑe̯ˈzæɪ.ʃən]

Word forms

civilization civilizations civilisation

Etymology

Borrowed from French civilisation, equivalent to civilize + -ation or civil + -ization.

Synonyms

sphere culture order home land of the living education acculturation ecumene

Antonyms

wilderness wilds anecumene

Related words

civilize

Derived words

anticivilization civilizational civilizationally civilizationism civilizationist civilization-state cradle of civilization cybercivilization Harappan Civilization hypercivilization incivilization Indus Civilization Indus Valley Civilization intercivilization microcivilization multicivilization overcivilization postcivilization precivilization psychocivilization subcivilization supercivilization uncivilization
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