ˈsivəˌlīz, Brit often & US sometimes -vi- verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Usage: see -ize
Etymology: French civiliser, from civil + -iser -ize
transitive verb
1. : to give a civil character to:
a. : to cause (as a people) to develop out of a primitive state through establishment of a system of social custom and political organization : instruct in the rules and standards of a civil order
b. : to bring (a people) to a technically advanced and rationally ordered stage of development of knowledge, polity, and international relations
2. : to raise up to a rationally and aesthetically refined and humanely oriented level of adjustment to the collective relations of mankind:
a. : to instruct in the sophisticated attitudes, polished elegance, and polite observances of elite society and good breeding : train in urbanity
b. : to instruct in or bring into line with the standards of self-control, uprightness, and impartial consideration of common needs and aspirations of humankind that are essential to social harmony and security of human freedoms : socialize 2
c. : to bring to recognition of or to accord with cultivated and refined aesthetic standards of classic literature and the fine arts
3. obsolete : to bring under civil authority
4. obsolete : to declare or treat as socially permissible or acceptable
intransitive verb
1. : to acquire the customs and amenities of a civil community
2. dialect : to array or tidy oneself according to the standard of seemliness acceptable in a community