Civilization — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

a society in an advanced state of social development (e.g., with complex legal and political and religious organizations)

the social process whereby societies achieve an advanced stage of development and organization

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/kɹoʊtˈɑːnɪlˌiːn/

🇬🇧British English

/dɪspˈɛnsətˌɪvli/

🇮🇳Indian English

/dɪspˈɛnsətˌɪvli/

5 syllables Say it as /kɹoʊtˈɑːnɪlˌiːn/.

Examples

the people slowly progressed from barbarism to civilization
early Mayan civilization
a man of intellectual refinement

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

culture civilisation refinement

Parts of Speech

noun	a society in an advanced state of social development (e.g., with complex legal and political and religious organizations) “the people slowly progressed from barbarism to civilization”
noun	the social process whereby societies achieve an advanced stage of development and organization
noun	a particular society at a particular time and place “early Mayan civilization”
noun	the quality of excellence in thought and manners and taste “a man of intellectual refinement”

Word Forms

civilize	verb	raise from a barbaric to a civilized state
civilise	verb	raise from a barbaric to a civilized state
acculturate	verb	assimilate culturally

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Zivilisation

eine Gesellschaft in einem fortgeschrittenen Zustand der sozialen Entwicklung (z. B. mit komplexen rechtlichen, politischen und religiösen Organisationen)

🇫🇷French

civilisation

une société dans un état avancé de développement social (par exemple, avec des organisations juridiques, politiques et religieuses complexes)

🇪🇸Spanish

civilización

una sociedad en un estado avanzado de desarrollo social (por ejemplo, con organizaciones legales, políticas y religiosas complejas)

🇮🇹Italian

civiltà

una società in uno stato avanzato di sviluppo sociale (ad esempio, con complesse organizzazioni legali, politiche e religiose)

🇳🇱Dutch

beschaving

een samenleving in een vergevorderd stadium van sociale ontwikkeling (bijvoorbeeld met complexe juridische, politieke en religieuze organisaties)

🇵🇹Portuguese

civilização

uma sociedade em estado avançado de desenvolvimento social (por exemplo, com organizações jurídicas, políticas e religiosas complexas)

🇷🇺Russian

цивилизация

общество, находящееся на продвинутом этапе социального развития (например, со сложными правовыми, политическими и религиозными организациями)

India

🇮🇳Hindi

सभ्यता

सामाजिक विकास की उन्नत अवस्था में एक समाज (उदाहरण के लिए, जटिल कानूनी और राजनीतिक और धार्मिक संगठनों के साथ)

🇧🇩Bengali

সভ্যতা

সামাজিক উন্নয়নের একটি উন্নত রাষ্ট্রে একটি সমাজ (যেমন, জটিল আইনি এবং রাজনৈতিক ও ধর্মীয় সংগঠন সহ)

🇮🇳Tamil

நாகரீகம்

சமூக வளர்ச்சியின் மேம்பட்ட நிலையில் உள்ள சமூகம் (எ.கா. சிக்கலான சட்ட மற்றும் அரசியல் மற்றும் மத அமைப்புகளுடன்)

🇮🇳Telugu

నాగరికత

సామాజిక అభివృద్ధి యొక్క అధునాతన స్థితిలో ఉన్న సమాజం (ఉదా. సంక్లిష్టమైన చట్టపరమైన మరియు రాజకీయ మరియు మతపరమైన సంస్థలతో)

🇮🇳Marathi

सभ्यता

सामाजिक विकासाच्या प्रगत अवस्थेतील समाज (उदा. जटिल कायदेशीर आणि राजकीय आणि धार्मिक संघटनांसह)

🇮🇳Gujarati

સભ્યતા

સામાજિક વિકાસની અદ્યતન સ્થિતિમાં એક સમાજ (દા.ત. જટિલ કાનૂની અને રાજકીય અને ધાર્મિક સંગઠનો સાથે)

🇮🇳Kannada

ನಾಗರಿಕತೆ

ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ಅಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿಯ ಮುಂದುವರಿದ ಸ್ಥಿತಿಯಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಸಮಾಜ (ಉದಾ. ಸಂಕೀರ್ಣ ಕಾನೂನು ಮತ್ತು ರಾಜಕೀಯ ಮತ್ತು ಧಾರ್ಮಿಕ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆಗಳೊಂದಿಗೆ)

🇮🇳Malayalam

നാഗരികത

സാമൂഹ്യവികസനത്തിൻ്റെ വികസിത അവസ്ഥയിലുള്ള ഒരു സമൂഹം (ഉദാ. സങ്കീർണ്ണമായ നിയമപരവും രാഷ്ട്രീയവും മതപരവുമായ സംഘടനകളുള്ള)

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਸਭਿਅਤਾ

ਸਮਾਜਿਕ ਵਿਕਾਸ ਦੀ ਇੱਕ ਉੱਨਤ ਅਵਸਥਾ ਵਿੱਚ ਇੱਕ ਸਮਾਜ (ਉਦਾਹਰਣ ਵਜੋਂ, ਗੁੰਝਲਦਾਰ ਕਾਨੂੰਨੀ ਅਤੇ ਰਾਜਨੀਤਿਕ ਅਤੇ ਧਾਰਮਿਕ ਸੰਗਠਨਾਂ ਦੇ ਨਾਲ)

🇵🇰Urdu

تہذیب

سماجی ترقی کی ایک اعلی درجے کی حالت میں ایک معاشرہ (مثال کے طور پر، پیچیدہ قانونی اور سیاسی اور مذہبی تنظیموں کے ساتھ)

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

文明

社会发展处于先进状态的社会（例如，具有复杂的法律、政治和宗教组织）

🇯🇵Japanese

文明

社会発展が進んだ状態にある社会（例えば、複雑な法的組織、政治的組織、宗教的組織がある）

🇰🇷Korean

문명

진보된 사회 발전 상태에 있는 사회(예: 복잡한 법률, 정치, 종교 조직)

🇻🇳Vietnamese

nền văn minh

một xã hội ở trạng thái phát triển xã hội tiên tiến (ví dụ: với các tổ chức pháp lý, chính trị và tôn giáo phức tạp)

🇹🇭Thai

อารยธรรม

สังคมที่มีการพัฒนาทางสังคมขั้นสูง (เช่น มีองค์กรทางกฎหมาย การเมือง และศาสนาที่ซับซ้อน)

🇮🇩Indonesian

peradaban

masyarakat dalam kondisi perkembangan sosial yang maju (misalnya, dengan organisasi hukum, politik, dan keagamaan yang kompleks)

🇵🇭Filipino

kabihasnan

isang lipunan sa isang advanced na estado ng panlipunang pag-unlad (hal., na may kumplikadong legal at pampulitika at relihiyosong mga organisasyon)

🇲🇾Malay

tamadun

masyarakat dalam keadaan pembangunan sosial yang maju (cth., dengan organisasi perundangan dan politik dan agama yang kompleks)

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

الحضارة

مجتمع في حالة متقدمة من التنمية الاجتماعية (على سبيل المثال، مع المنظمات القانونية والسياسية والدينية المعقدة)

🇮🇷Persian

تمدن

جامعه ای در وضعیت پیشرفته ای از توسعه اجتماعی (مثلاً با سازمان های پیچیده حقوقی، سیاسی و مذهبی)

🇹🇷Turkish

uygarlık

Sosyal gelişimin ileri düzeyde olduğu bir toplum (örneğin, karmaşık yasal, politik ve dini organizasyonlara sahip)

🇮🇱Hebrew

תַרְבּוּת

חברה במצב מתקדם של התפתחות חברתית (למשל, עם ארגונים משפטיים ופוליטיים ודתיים מורכבים)

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'civilization'?

The primary meaning of 'civilization' is 'a society in an advanced state of social development (e.g., with complex legal and political and religious organizations)'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'civilization' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'civilization' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'civilization' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'civilization' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'civilization' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'civilization' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'civilization' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'civilization' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'civilization' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'civilization' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted