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View synonyms for civilized

civilized

[ siv-uh-lahyzd ]

adjective

  1. having an advanced or humane culture, society, etc.
  2. polite; well-bred; refined.
  3. of or relating to civilized people:

    The civilized world must fight ignorance.

  4. easy to manage or control; well organized or ordered:

    The car is quiet and civilized, even in sharp turns.



civilized

/ ˈsɪvɪˌlaɪzd /

adjective

  1. having a high state of culture and social development
  2. cultured; polite

    a civilized discussion

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Other Words From

  • civ·i·liz·ed·ness [siv, -, uh, -lahy-zid-nis, -lahyzd], noun
  • half-civil·ized adjective
  • hyper·civi·lized adjective
  • non·civi·lized adjective
  • sub·civi·lized adjective
  • super·civi·lized adjective
  • ultra·civi·lized adjective
  • well-civi·lized adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of civilized1

First recorded in 1605–15; civilize + -ed 2
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Example Sentences

Although it sounds like you just put your house shoes in the microwave, the process can be more civilized than that.

That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.

He began by saying that “England and all civilized nations stand in deadly peril,” variously referring to “a colossal problem” of “urgent importance,” an “impending catastrophe,” and “a life-and-death question for generations to come.”

His 2015 paper, “A SARS-like cluster of circulating bat coronaviruses shows potential for human emergence,” was a tour de force, utilizing bleeding-edge genetic technology to alert the civilized world to a looming danger on its periphery.

A civilized society protects children and vulnerable populations.

From Time

The last six months have been a stark reminder of the brutality that lurks at the boundaries of civilized society.

A mark of the civilized person is that he in no way luxuriates in his violence.

In any other civilized nation this effort at some kind of summer escape would barely raise an eyebrow.

An innocent person condemned by law is perhaps the most horrifying thing a civilized society can acknowledge.

It means being more civilized, and treating breaking up as an opportunity for personal growth.

Who could suppose that two tolerably civilized nations would endure this in the middle of 1851?

Then we are again overgrown boys, beings of inferior race and incapable of being civilized.

Hereditary legislation in the twentieth century and the most civilized country in the world!

The critical moralist pauses before the formidable array of the entire social world, civilized and savage.

There is nothing picturesque in those old towns, for they were dead before they were civilized.

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