Word forms: plural civilizationsregional note: in BRIT, also use civilisation
1. variable noun
A civilization is a human society with its own social organization and culture.
The ancient civilizations of Central and Latin America were founded upon corn.
It seemed to him that western civilization was in grave economic and cultural danger.
Synonyms: society, people, community, nation More Synonyms of civilization
2. uncountable noun
Civilization is the state of having an advanced level of social organization and a comfortable way of life.
...our advanced state of civilisation.
3. uncountable noun
You can refer to a place where you can enjoy the comforts that you consider to be necessary as civilization.
...when I returned to civilization.
More Synonyms of civilization
civilization in British English
or civilisation (ˌsɪvɪlaɪˈzeɪʃən)
noun
1.
a human society that has highly developed material and spiritual resources and a complex cultural, political, and legal organization; an advanced state in social development
2.
the peoples or nations collectively who have achieved such a state
3.
the total culture and way of life of a particular people, nation, region, or period
classical civilization
4.
the process of bringing or achieving civilization
5.
intellectual, cultural, and moral refinement
6.
cities or populated areas, as contrasted with sparsely inhabited areas, deserts, etc
civilization in American English
(ˌsɪvələˈzeɪʃən)
noun
1.
the process of civilizing or becoming civilized
2.
the condition of being civilized; social organization of a high order, marked by the development and use of a written language and by advances in the arts and sciences, government, etc.
3.
the total culture of a particular people, nation, period, etc.
4.
the countries and peoples considered to have reached a high stage of social and cultural development
5.
intellectual and cultural refinement
6.
the amenities, esp. creature comforts of civilized life
Word origin
ML civilizatio
Examples of 'civilization' in a sentence
civilization
Discover the history and culture of civilizations ancient and modern.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Or was it a means by which classical civilization was rescued from extinction?
The Times Literary Supplement (2014)
The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.
Coyle, Andrew & Stern, Vivien The Prisons We Deserve (1994)
People in various civilizations have attempted to devise schemes to look beyond the present.
Stearns, Peter N. World History: Patterns of Change and Continuity (1995)
Why did most early civilizations center in river valleys?
Stearns, Peter N. World History: Patterns of Change and Continuity (1995)
Such human civilization as existed would have been very different.
Radford, Tim & Leggett, Jeremy The Crisis of Life on Earth - our legacy from the second millenium (1990)
All ancient civilizations have records of the use of herbs in the treatment of common illnesses.
Orton, Christine Eczema Relief - the comprehensive self-help plan (1990)
These three early civilization centers had some mutual contacts.
Stearns, Peter N. World History: Patterns of Change and Continuity (1995)
Human civilizations have undergone a sea change since then.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
All three classical civilizations featured great structural inequalities between men and women and between upper and lower classes.
Stearns, Peter N. World History: Patterns of Change and Continuity (1995)
Clinical ecology shows us how to restore the balance between man and his environment under the conditions of advanced civilization.
Randolph, Theron G. & Moss, Ralph W. (contributor) An Alternative Approach to Allergies (1990)
Was there a moral basis for rebuilding Western civilization and reshaping the world in its image?
Christianity Today (2000)
The various ancient Mediterranean civilizations traded extensively with each other.
The Times Literary Supplement (2010)
All the arts received some attention in classical Mediterranean civilization.
Stearns, Peter N. World History: Patterns of Change and Continuity (1995)
Yet she was not only immensely rich, but more advanced in real civilization than any other country.
Bryant, Arthur The Search for Justice - a history of Britain and the British people Volume III (1990)
During most of this period, the area remained backward by standards of the great civilizations of the world.
Stearns, Peter N. World History: Patterns of Change and Continuity (1995)
Too many are taking on the riot police in the hope of burning down a symbol of Western civilization.
The Sun (2012)
Throughout the ages, many great civilizations have extolled and benefited from the use of colour as a powerful healing agent.
de Jong, Eveline Alternative Health Care for Children (1989)
Although during this period the civilization was set apart from wider currents of world history, these were centuries of considerable internal change.
Stearns, Peter N. World History: Patterns of Change and Continuity (1995)
As marginal, they live on the outskirts of society, civilization or the known world.
The Times Literary Supplement (2010)
Critical social theory Anthropology and sociology have provided us with an explicit critique of Western culture or civilization.
de Haan, Willem The Politics of Redress - crime, punishment and penal abolition (1989)
The first American civilization was based on many centuries of advancing agriculture, expanding from the early cultivation of corn.
Stearns, Peter N. World History: Patterns of Change and Continuity (1995)
A great civilization had to be able to fill its rivals, and their ambassadors, with awe.
Jonathan Wright Ambassadors: From Ancient Greece to the Nation State (2006)
Quotations
Civilization is a limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessitiesMark Twain
In other languages
civilization
British English: civilization /ˌsɪvɪlaɪˈzeɪʃən/ NOUN
A civilization is a human society with its own social organization and culture.
...the ancient civilizations of Central and Latin America.
American English: civilization
Arabic: حَضَارَة
Brazilian Portuguese: civilização
Chinese: 文明
Croatian: civilizacija
Czech: civilizace
Danish: civilisation
Dutch: beschaving
European Spanish: civilización
Finnish: sivilisaatio
French: civilisation
German: Zivilisation
Greek: πολιτισμός
Italian: civilizzazione
Japanese: 文明
Korean: 문명
Norwegian: sivilisasjon
Polish: cywilizacja
European Portuguese: civilização
Romanian: civilizație
Russian: цивилизация
Latin American Spanish: civilización
Swedish: civilisation
Thai: อารยธรรม
Turkish: uygarlık
Ukrainian: цивілізація
Vietnamese: nền văn minh
Chinese translation of 'civilization'
civilization
(sɪvɪlaɪˈzeɪʃən)
n(c/u)
(= society) 文明 (wénmíng) (种(種), zhǒng)
1 (noun)
Definition
a human society that has a complex cultural, political, and legal organization
He believed Western civilization was in grave economic and cultural danger.
Synonyms
society
This reflects attitudes and values prevailing in society.
people
community
He's well liked by the local community.
nation
It was a story that touched the nation's heart.
polity
2 (noun)
Definition
intellectual, cultural, and moral refinement
a race with an advanced state of civilization
Synonyms
culture
He was a well-travelled man of culture and breeding.
development
the development of the embryo
education
progress
The two sides made little progress towards agreement.
The doctors say they are pleased with her progress.
enlightenment
We set off for the East in search of spiritual enlightenment.
sophistication
advancement
her work for the advancement of the status of women
cultivation
She was a woman of cultivation and scholarship.
refinement
a girl who possessed both dignity and refinement
3 (noun)
Definition
the total culture and way of life of a particular people, nation, region, or period
Synonyms
customs
way of life
Residents feared that their traditional way of life was being eroded.
mores
Quotation
Civilization is a limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities [Mark Twain]
Additional synonyms
in the sense of advancement
her work for the advancement of the status of women