civilize
verb /ˈsɪvəlaɪz/
/ˈsɪvəlaɪz/
(British English also civilise)
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they civilize | /ˈsɪvəlaɪz/ /ˈsɪvəlaɪz/ |
| he / she / it civilizes | /ˈsɪvəlaɪzɪz/ /ˈsɪvəlaɪzɪz/ |
| past simple civilized | /ˈsɪvəlaɪzd/ /ˈsɪvəlaɪzd/ |
| past participle civilized | /ˈsɪvəlaɪzd/ /ˈsɪvəlaɪzd/ |
| -ing form civilizing | /ˈsɪvəlaɪzɪŋ/ /ˈsɪvəlaɪzɪŋ/ |
- civilize somebody/something to educate and improve a person or a society; to make somebody’s behaviour or manners better
- The girls in a class tend to have a civilizing influence on the boys.
Word Originearly 17th cent.: from French civiliser, from civil ‘civil’.