Meanings
civil1
comparative more civil · comparative civiler · superlative most civil · superlative civilest
- not comparableHaving to do with people and government office as opposed to the military or religion.
She went into civil service because she wanted to help the people.
1 more example
A third is wroth: ‘Is this an hour For private sorrow’s barren song, When more and more the people throng The chairs and thrones of civil power?’
1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XXI”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 35 - comparableBehaving in a reasonable or polite manner; avoiding displays of hostility.
It was very civil of him to stop the argument.
1 more example
They despise each other, but they are always civil in public.
Antonyms: anti-civil, impolite, inconsiderate, noncivil, rude
- archaicIn a peaceful and well-ordered state.
Herein thou haſt done good ſeruice to thy country: VVere all inhumaine ſlaues ſo ſerued as he, England would be ciuill, and from all ſuch dealings free.
1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […], →OCLC, Act I - Secular.
The word from which "evil" in Romans 13.4 is translated means "generally opposed to civil goodness or virtue, in a commonwealth, and not to spiritual good, or religion, in the church.
2008, Jerald Finney, God Betrayed, →ISBN, page 1742 more examples
As if our Saviour had said, No man can enter into heaven except he be born again; so as he speaketh not only of notorious Sinners, as Adulterers, Drunkards, Swearers, & c. but of all who are in their natural condition, tho' they live never so unblameably, free from scandalous sins, if they be not born again, their civil Righteousness will do them little good, for they shall never see the Kingdom of God.
1680, A Practical Discourse of RegenerationSome grammarians explain this passage as referring to a civil sanctity, in respect of the children being reckoned legitimate, but in this respect the condition of unbelievers is in no degree worse.
2013, John Calvin, Calvin's Complete Commentary, Volume 7: Acts to EphesiansSynonyms: nonreligious, temporal, worldy, areligious, earthly, irreligious, laicist, laicistic
Civil2
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveBehaving in a reasonable or polite manner; avoiding displays of hostility.
adjectiveSecular.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveapplying to ordinary citizens as contrasted with the military
adjectivenot rude; marked by satisfactory (or especially minimal) adherence to social usages and sufficient but not noteworthy consideration for others
adjectiveof or relating to or befitting citizens as individuals
adjective(of divisions of time) legally recognized in ordinary affairs of life
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latincīvīlis“relating to a citizen”
- Old Frenchcivil
- Middle Englishcyvyl
- Englishcivil
From Middle English cyvyl, civil, borrowed from Old French civil, from Latin cīvīlis (“relating to a citizen”), from cīvis (“citizen”) ultimately from proto-Indo-European *ḱey-. Cognate with Old English hīwen (“household”), hīrǣden (“family”). More at hind; hird. (polite): Compare typologically urbane (<< Latin urbs), courteous (akin to court).
More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic مَدَنِيّ, أَهْلِيّ
- مَدَنِيّ (madaniyy)related to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- أَهْلِيّ (ʔahliyy)related to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
Basque zibil
- zibilrelated to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
Bulgarian гра́ждански, циви́лен
- гра́ждански (gráždanski)related to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- циви́лен (civílen)related to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- ве́жлив (véžliv)behaving in a reasonable or polite manner
- учти́в (učtív)behaving in a reasonable or polite manner
Catalan civil, civil
- civilrelated to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- civilbehaving in a reasonable or polite manner
Chinese Mandarin 民事的
- 民事的 (mínshì de)related to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
Czech civilní, civilizovaný
- civilnírelated to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- civilizovanýbehaving in a reasonable or polite manner
- slušnýbehaving in a reasonable or polite manner
- kulturníbehaving in a reasonable or polite manner
- vychovanýbehaving in a reasonable or polite manner
Danish civil, høflig
- civilrelated to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- høfligbehaving in a reasonable or polite manner
- civiliseretbehaving in a reasonable or polite manner
Dutch burgerlijk, civiel
- burgerlijkrelated to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- civielrelated to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- beschaafdbehaving in a reasonable or polite manner
- geciviliseerdbehaving in a reasonable or polite manner
Esperanto civila
- civilarelated to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
Finnish kansalais-, siviili-
- kansalais-related to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- siviili-related to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- kohteliasbehaving in a reasonable or polite manner
- asiallinenbehaving in a reasonable or polite manner
- yksityis-law: related to private relations among citizens, as opposed to criminal matters
- siviili-law: related to private relations among citizens, as opposed to criminal matters
French civil, civil
- civilrelated to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- civilbehaving in a reasonable or polite manner
German zivil, bürgerlich
- zivilrelated to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- bürgerlichrelated to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- zivilisiertbehaving in a reasonable or polite manner
Greek πολιτικός
- πολιτικός (politikós)related to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
Hebrew אֶזְרָחִי, מנומס
- אֶזְרָחִי (ezrakhí)related to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- מנומס (menumás)behaving in a reasonable or polite manner
- אזרחי (ezrakhí)law: related to private relations among citizens, as opposed to criminal matters
Hindi सिविल, नागरिक
- सिविल (sivil)related to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- नागरिक (nāgrik)related to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- सिविल (sivil)behaving in a reasonable or polite manner
- मिलनसार (milansār)behaving in a reasonable or polite manner
- सभ्य (sabhya)behaving in a reasonable or polite manner
Hungarian polgári
- polgárirelated to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
Indonesian sipil, beradab
- sipilrelated to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- beradabbehaving in a reasonable or polite manner
- perdatalaw: related to private relations among citizens, as opposed to criminal matters
Irish sibhialta, sibhialta
- sibhialtarelated to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- sibhialtabehaving in a reasonable or polite manner
- béasachbehaving in a reasonable or polite manner
Italian civile
- civilerelated to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
Japanese 民事, 民事上
- 民事 (minji)related to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- 民事上 (minjijō)related to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- 民事的 (minjiteki)related to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- うやうやしい (uyauyashī)behaving in a reasonable or polite manner
- 礼やか (iyayaka)behaving in a reasonable or polite manner
Korean 민사
- 민사 (minsa)related to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
Latin cīvīlis
- cīvīlisrelated to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
Latvian pilsonisks
- pilsonisksrelated to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
Malay sivil, sivil
- sivilrelated to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- sivilbehaving in a reasonable or polite manner
Māori rarautake
- rarautakerelated to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
Polish cywilny, cywilny
- cywilnyrelated to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- cywilnylaw: related to private relations among citizens, as opposed to criminal matters
Portuguese civil, civil
- civilrelated to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- civilbehaving in a reasonable or polite manner
- civilizadobehaving in a reasonable or polite manner
Romanian civil
- civilrelated to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
Russian гражда́нский, шта́тский
- гражда́нский (graždánskij)related to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- шта́тский (štátskij)related to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- циви́льный (civílʹnyj)related to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- цивилизо́ванный (civilizóvannyj)behaving in a reasonable or polite manner
- воспи́танный (vospítannyj)behaving in a reasonable or polite manner
- культу́рный (kulʹtúrnyj)behaving in a reasonable or polite manner
- ве́жливый (véžlivyj)behaving in a reasonable or polite manner
Scottish Gaelic catharra, sìobhalta
- catharrarelated to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- sìobhaltarelated to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
Slovak civilný, civilizovaný
- civilnýrelated to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- civilizovanýbehaving in a reasonable or polite manner
- slušnýbehaving in a reasonable or polite manner
- kultúrnybehaving in a reasonable or polite manner
- vychovanýbehaving in a reasonable or polite manner
Spanish civil, civil
- civilrelated to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- civilbehaving in a reasonable or polite manner
Swedish civil, civiliserad
- civilrelated to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- civiliseradbehaving in a reasonable or polite manner
Tagalog bayanhin
- bayanhinrelated to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
Turkish sivil
- sivilrelated to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
Ukrainian громадя́нський, шта́тський
- громадя́нський (hromadjánsʹkyj)related to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- шта́тський (štátsʹkyj)related to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- циві́льний (cyvílʹnyj)related to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
Urdu شَہْری, مَدَنی
- شَہْری (śahrī)related to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
- مَدَنی (madanī)related to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
Vietnamese dân sự
- dân sựlaw: related to private relations among citizens, as opposed to criminal matters
Welsh sifil
- sifilrelated to people and government office as opposed to military or religion
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with civil
All rhymes →Cite this entry
civil. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/civil
“civil.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/civil. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “civil,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/civil.
Source: civil on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.