Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

civilization

/ˌsɪv.ə.laɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.01 in modern English

Syllables: civ-il-i-za-tion
IPA: /ˌsɪv.ə.laɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/

26

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

5

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An organized culture encompassing many communities, often on the scale of a nation or a people; a stage or system of social, political, or technical development.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Human society, particularly civil society.

Uncountable

noun

The act or process of civilizing or becoming civilized.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

The state or quality of being civilized.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

The act of rendering a criminal process civil.

Countable; Obsolete; Uncountable

name

Collectively, those people and places of the world considered to have a high standard of behavior and / or a high level of development. Commonly subjectively used by people of one society to exclusively refer to their society, or their elite sub-group, or a few associated societies, implying all others, in time or geography or status, as something less than civilised, as savages or barbarians. (Compare refinement, elitism, civilised society, the Civilised World.

Example Sentences

"the Aztec civilization"
"Western civilization"
"Modern civilization is a product of industrialization and globalization."
"But civilizations, like the penis, rise and fall, and when the towers and battlements crumble into the earth, they return to the embrace of the Great Mother."
"A hermit doesn't much care for civilization."
"I'm glad to be back in civilization after a day with that rowdy family."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱey-der. Proto-Italic *keiwis Latin ceivis Latin cīvis Proto-Indo-European *-elis Proto-Italic *-elis Latin -ilis Latin -īlis Latin cīvīlislbor. French civil Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō)bor. Late Latin -izārebor. Old French -iser French -iser French civiliser Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin -ātiōlbor. Old French -ation Middle French -ation French -ation French civilisationbor. English civilization Borrowed from French civilisation, equivalent to civilize + -ation or civil + -ization.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˌsɪv.ə.laɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/
British English: /ˌsɪv.ɪ.laɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/

Usage

Inflected Forms

civilizations (plural) civilisation (alternative, UK)

Derived Forms

anticivilization civilizational civilizationally civilizationism civilizationist cybercivilization hypercivilization incivilization intercivilization microcivilization multicivilization overcivilization

Phrases

civilization-state cradle of civilization Harappan Civilization Indus Civilization Indus Valley Civilization

Frequently Paired Words

civilize frontier outland wasteland

Synonyms

ecumene culture order sphere education acculturation home land of the living

Antonyms

wilderness wilds anecumene

Rhymes With

information education situation population station association administration operation organization nation location application

Questions

How do you pronounce civilization?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌsɪv.ə.laɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/.
What does civilization mean?: An organized culture encompassing many communities, often on the scale of a nation or a people; a stage or system of social, political, or technical development.
Where does civilization come from?: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱey-der. Proto-Italic *keiwis Latin ceivis Latin cīvis Proto-Indo-European *-elis Proto-Italic *-elis Latin -ilis Latin -īlis Latin cīvīlislbor. French civil Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō)bor. Late Latin -izārebor. Old French -iser French -iser French civiliser Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin -ātiōlbor. Old French -ation Middle French -ation French -ation French civilisationbor. English civilization Borrowed from French civilisation, equivalent to civilize + -ation or civil + -ization.

How to pronounce civilization

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “civilization”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌsɪv.ə.laɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “civilization”.
Repeat and practice — Say “civilization” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.