civil is on the Academic Word List.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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Positive
civil

Comparative
more civil

Superlative
most civil

  1. (usually before a noun) About the citizens of a country, especially as opposed to the government, army, police, religion, etc.
    One of the most important civil rights is freedom of speech.
    In the Civil War, the Red Army had blocked off the northern part of Ukraine from the hungry south.
    The state is connected to civil society through aspects other than its role in administration
    The government had run out of money to pay civil servants.
    This comes under civil, rather than criminal, law.
    The bridge would be one of the largest civil engineering projects in the country.
  2. If someone is civil, they are polite but not friendly.
    Mum had been civil to me since the fight but something had gone between us.
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