Meanings
civil war1
nouncivil war (plural civil wars)
plural civil wars
- A war fought between factions of the inhabitants of a single country, or a similar political entity.
Our Father’s Death Would fill up all the Guilt of Civil War, And cloſe the Scene of Blood.
1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 13 more examples
At about the time the salarians and asari were forming the Council, the turians were embroiled in a bitter civil war. The Unification War, as it was later named, began with hostilities between the colonies furthest from the turian homeworld, Palaven.
2008, BioWare, Mass Effect, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Turians: The Unification War Codex entryThe “little green men”—faces covered, wearing unmarked olive uniforms, speaking Russian and using Russian weapons—have played a significant role in both the occupation of Crimea and the civil war in eastern Ukraine.¹⁹⁶
2015, Shane R. Reeves, David Wallace, “The Combatant Status of the “Little Green Men” and Other Participants in the Ukraine Conflict”, in International Law Studies, US Naval War College, volume 91, number 361, Stockton Center for the Study of International Law, page 393Civil war is now casually discussed on cable TV shows in between ads for haemorrhoid creams and car insurance.
2022 September 6, Arwa Mahdawi, “No doomsday bunker, not a single gun – if the US really is heading for civil war, I’m stuffed”, in The Guardian
Civil War2
proper nounthe Civil War
- Any of several civil wars, taken specifically.
Puritans had always been only a minority, albeit one with disproportionate influence. The Civil War of the 1640s, which culminated in the execution of Charles I in 1649 and the establishment of a republic, gave them supreme power.
2012, Faramerz Dabhoiwala, The Origins of Sex, Penguin, published 2013, page 46
Synonyms & antonyms
Also see
Origin
civil war · noun
- Latinbellum cīvīle
- Englishcivil war
Calque of Latin bellum cīvīle, in English from 1651 in reference to the English Civil War, with possible early use in the 15th and 16th centuries as wer cyuile or ciuill warre. Displaced native Old English inġewinn.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans burgeroorlog
- burgeroorlogwar between factions within a single country
Ancient Greek ἐμφύλιος πόλεμος
- ἐμφύλιος πόλεμος (emphúlios pólemos)war between factions within a single country
Arabic حَرْب أَهْلِيَّة
- حَرْب أَهْلِيَّة (ḥarb ʔahliyya)war between factions within a single country
Basque gerra zibil
- gerra zibilwar between factions within a single country
Bengali গৃহযুদ্ধ
- গৃহযুদ্ধ (grihojuddho)war between factions within a single country
Bulgarian гра́жданска война́
- гра́жданска война́ (gráždanska vojná)war between factions within a single country
Catalan guerra civil
- guerra civilwar between factions within a single country
Chinese Cantonese 內戰 /内战
- 內戰 /内战 (noi⁶ zin³)war between factions within a single country
Chinese Mandarin 內戰 /内战, 內亂 /内乱
- 內戰 /内战 (nèizhàn)war between factions within a single country
- 內亂 /内乱 (nèiluàn)war between factions within a single country
- 國內戰爭 /国内战争 (guónèi zhànzhēng)war between factions within a single country
- 內潰 /内溃 (nèikuì)war between factions within a single country
Czech občanská válka
- občanská válkawar between factions within a single country
Danish borgerkrig
- borgerkrigwar between factions within a single country
Dutch burgeroorlog, burgerkrijg
- burgeroorlogwar between factions within a single country
- burgerkrijgwar between factions within a single country
Esperanto enlanda milito, interna milito
- enlanda militowar between factions within a single country
- interna militowar between factions within a single country
- intercivitana militowar between factions within a single country
- civila militowar between factions within a single country
- interfrata militowar between factions within a single country
Estonian kodusõda
- kodusõdawar between factions within a single country
Finnish sisällissota
- sisällissotawar between factions within a single country
French guerre civile, guerre intestine
- guerre civilewar between factions within a single country
- guerre intestinewar between factions within a single country
German Bürgerkrieg
- Bürgerkriegwar between factions within a single country
Greek εμφύλιος πόλεμος
- εμφύλιος πόλεμος (emfýlios pólemos)war between factions within a single country
Hawaiian kaua kūloko
- kaua kūlokowar between factions within a single country
Hebrew מִלְחֶמֶת אֶזְרָחִים
- מִלְחֶמֶת אֶזְרָחִים (milkhémet ezrakhím)war between factions within a single country
Hindi गृहयुद्ध
- गृहयुद्ध (gŕhyuddh)war between factions within a single country
Hungarian polgárháború
- polgárháborúwar between factions within a single country
Icelandic borgarastyrjöld, borgarastríð
- borgarastyrjöldwar between factions within a single country
- borgarastríðwar between factions within a single country
Indonesian perang saudara
- perang saudarawar between factions within a single country
Irish cogadh cathartha
- cogadh catharthawar between factions within a single country
Italian guerra civile
- guerra civilewar between factions within a single country
Japanese 内戦, 内乱
- 内戦 (naisen)war between factions within a single country
- 内乱 (nairan)war between factions within a single country
Korean 내전, 내란
- 내전 (naejeon)war between factions within a single country
- 내란 (naeran)war between factions within a single country
Latin bellum cīvīle, bellum intestīnum
- bellum cīvīlewar between factions within a single country
- bellum intestīnumwar between factions within a single country
Latvian pilsoņu karš
- pilsoņu karšwar between factions within a single country
Lithuanian pilietinis karas
- pilietinis karaswar between factions within a single country
Malay perang saudara
- perang saudarawar between factions within a single country
Māori kaiākiri
- kaiākiriwar between factions within a single country
Norwegian Bokmål borgerkrig
- borgerkrigwar between factions within a single country
Polish wojna domowa
- wojna domowawar between factions within a single country
Portuguese guerra civil
- guerra civilwar between factions within a single country
Punjabi ਖ਼ਾਨਾਜੰਗੀ
- ਖ਼ਾਨਾਜੰਗੀ (xānājaṅgī)war between factions within a single country
Romanian război civil
- război civilwar between factions within a single country
Russian гражда́нская война́
- гражда́нская война́ (graždánskaja vojná)war between factions within a single country
Scottish Gaelic cogadh sìobhalta
- cogadh sìobhaltawar between factions within a single country
Slovak občianska vojna
- občianska vojnawar between factions within a single country
Spanish guerra civil
- guerra civilwar between factions within a single country
Swahili vita vya wenyewe kwa wenyewe
- vita vya wenyewe kwa wenyewewar between factions within a single country
Swedish inbördeskrig
- inbördeskrigwar between factions within a single country
Tagalog digmaang sibil, bayanhing digmaan
- digmaang sibilwar between factions within a single country
- bayanhing digmaanwar between factions within a single country
Tamil உள்நாட்டுப் போர்
- உள்நாட்டுப் போர் (uḷnāṭṭup pōr)war between factions within a single country
Thai สงครามกลางเมือง
- สงครามกลางเมือง (sǒng-kraam-glaang-mʉʉang)war between factions within a single country
Turkish iç savaş, dahili savaş
- iç savaşwar between factions within a single country
- dahili savaşwar between factions within a single country
Ukrainian громадя́нська війна́
- громадя́нська війна́ (hromadjánsʹka vijná)war between factions within a single country
Urdu خانَہ جَن٘گی
- خانَہ جَن٘گی (xāna jaṅgī)war between factions within a single country
Vietnamese nội chiến
- nội chiếnwar between factions within a single country
Welsh rhyfel cartref
- rhyfel cartrefwar between factions within a single country
Yiddish בירגער קריג, בירגער־מלחמה
- בירגער קריג (birger krig)war between factions within a single country
- בירגער־מלחמה (birger milkhome)war between factions within a single country
- ציווילע קריג (tsivile krig)war between factions within a single country
Cite this entry
APA
civil war. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/civil%20war
MLA
“civil war.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/civil%20war. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “civil war,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/civil%20war.
Source: civil war on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.