civ ‧ il S3 W2 AC /ˈsɪv ə l/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: Latin civilis , from civis ; ⇨ ↑ civic ]
1 . [only before noun] relating to the people who live in a country
civil war/disturbance/unrest etc (=fighting etc between different groups of people living in the same country) ⇨ ↑ civil liberty , ↑ civil rights
2 . [only before noun] relating to the ordinary people or things in a country that are not part of military, government, or religious organizations:
They were married in a civil ceremony in May.
3 . [only before noun] relating to the laws about the private affairs of citizens, such as laws about business or property, rather than laws about crime ⇨ civil law , criminal :
Many civil cases can be settled out of court.
4 . polite in a formal but not very friendly way ⇨ civility :
Try at least to be civil.
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COLLOCATIONS
■ nouns
▪ civil war (=fighting between groups of people in the same country)
His family fled Spain during the Spanish civil war.
▪ civil rights (=the right to vote, be treated fairly etc that everyone should have)
Black people marched in defence of their civil rights.
▪ civil liberties/liberty (=the right to be free to do what you want within the law)
Detention without trial threatens our civil liberties.
▪ civil disobedience/unrest (=when people protest or behave violently)
Unemployment has provoked widespread civil unrest.
▪ civil disturbances/strife (=civil unrest)
Troops have been called in to deal with civil disturbances.
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THESAURUS
▪ polite behaving or speaking in a way that is correct for the social situation you are in, and showing that you are careful to consider other people’s needs and feelings:
He was too polite to ask how old she was.
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‘Excuse me, sir,’ she said in a polite voice.
▪ well-mannered having good manners and knowing the correct way to behave in social situations:
She was beautifully dressed and very well-mannered.
▪ well-behaved polite and not causing any trouble – used about children or animals:
The children were very well-behaved.
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Well-behaved dogs are welcome at the hotel.
▪ courteous /ˈkɜːtiəs $ ˈkɜːr-/ polite and respectful, and behaving rather formally:
The hotel staff were very courteous and helpful.
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a courteous reply
▪ respectful polite and treating someone with respect:
He was very respectful towards all my relatives.
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‘Thank you,’ he said with a respectful bow.
▪ civil polite in a formal way, especially when you do not feel very friendly towards someone:
She’d never liked her father-in-law, but she forced herself to be civil to him.
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When you’ve stopped arguing, you might be able to have a civil conversation.
▪ deferential formal polite towards someone, especially because they are in a more important social position:
In those days women were expected to be deferential to men.