civilian casualties (=people who are not soldiers who are injured or killed)civilianci‧vil‧ian /səˈvɪljən/ ●●○ noun [countable] 
Many innocent civilians were killed during the war.—civilian adjective [only before noun]: It was difficult to return to civilian life after ten years in the military.
EXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
- Along with the fresh arrivals on the Union side was a Gettysburg civilian named John Burns.
- Even during war, life must go on for civilians.
- In all 646 soldiers and civilians were arrested and accused of supporting the rebellion.
- It is not only against civilians.
- She said at least five of the corpses were those of civilians.
- Shots slammed into the walls inside the courtyard where the civilians cried and threw themselves on the ground.
- The people of Vicksburg, both soldiers and civilians, had swarmed out into the streets.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES civilian casualties (=people who are not soldiers who are injured or killed)
anyone who is not a member of the military forces or the police: civilian casualties (=people who are not soldiers who are injured or killed) (=ordinary clothes rather than a military uniform)· a US army lieutenant in civilian clothes
· The army denied it had attacked civilian targets.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE· At the heart of the battle between the military and civilians was control of the budget.
· No driver wanted to plough heedlessly into a crowd of unarmed civilians.· Countless unarmed civilians fleeing to the borders were killed by helicopter gunships.
VERB· The convoy of 12 ambulance wagons and vans was frustrated throughout the day in efforts to extract injured civilians.
· In Bikernieki forest they killed 46,500 civilians.· The truck that carried the copters explodes, killing police officers and civilians.· Right-wing paramilitaries killed 25 civilians in six incidents.· We had been taken outside earlier that morning to watch as three soldiers were shot for violating the order against killing civilians.· They were not killing soldiers, they were killing civilians.· All wars are brutal, but not all of them involve the mass killing of civilians.
Many innocent civilians were killed during the war.—civilian adjective [only before noun]: It was difficult to return to civilian life after ten years in the military.