Meaning of "civilize" in the English dictionary

PRONUNCIATION OF CIVILIZE

civilize  [ˈsɪvɪˌlaɪz]

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF CIVILIZE

Civilize is a verb.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb civilize in English.

WHAT DOES CIVILIZE MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Civilization

Civilization or civilisation generally refers to state polities which combine these basic institutions, having one or more of each: a ceremonial centre, a system of writing, and a city. The term is used to contrast with other types of communities including hunter-gatherers, nomadic pastoralists and tribal villages. Civilizations have more densely populated settlements divided into hierarchical social classes with a ruling elite and subordinate urban and rural populations, which, by the division of labour, engage in intensive agriculture, mining, small-scale manufacture and trade. Civilization concentrates power, extending human control over both nature, and over other human beings. The emergence of civilization is generally associated with the final stages of the Neolithic Revolution, a slow cumulative process occurring independently over many locations between 10,000 and 3,000 BCE, culminating in the relatively rapid process of state formation, a political development associated with the appearance of a governing elite.

Definition of civilize in the English dictionary

The definition of civilize in the dictionary is to bring out of savagery or barbarism into a state characteristic of civilization. Other definition of civilize is to refine, educate, or enlighten.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO CIVILIZE

PRESENT

Present

I civilize

you civilize

he/she/it civilizes

we civilize

you civilize

they civilize

Present continuous

I am civilizing

you are civilizing

he/she/it is civilizing

we are civilizing

you are civilizing

they are civilizing

Present perfect

I have civilized

you have civilized

he/she/it has civilized

we have civilized

you have civilized

they have civilized

Present perfect continuous

I have been civilizing

you have been civilizing

he/she/it has been civilizing

we have been civilizing

you have been civilizing

they have been civilizing

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I civilized

you civilized

he/she/it civilized

we civilized

you civilized

they civilized

Past continuous

I was civilizing

you were civilizing

he/she/it was civilizing

we were civilizing

you were civilizing

they were civilizing

Past perfect

I had civilized

you had civilized

he/she/it had civilized

we had civilized

you had civilized

they had civilized

Past perfect continuous

I had been civilizing

you had been civilizing

he/she/it had been civilizing

we had been civilizing

you had been civilizing

they had been civilizing

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will civilize

you will civilize

he/she/it will civilize

we will civilize

you will civilize

they will civilize

Future continuous

I will be civilizing

you will be civilizing

he/she/it will be civilizing

we will be civilizing

you will be civilizing

they will be civilizing

Future perfect

I will have civilized

you will have civilized

he/she/it will have civilized

we will have civilized

you will have civilized

they will have civilized

Future perfect continuous

I will have been civilizing

you will have been civilizing

he/she/it will have been civilizing

we will have been civilizing

you will have been civilizing

they will have been civilizing

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would civilize

you would civilize

he/she/it would civilize

we would civilize

you would civilize

they would civilize

Conditional continuous

I would be civilizing

you would be civilizing

he/she/it would be civilizing

we would be civilizing

you would be civilizing

they would be civilizing

Conditional perfect

I would have civilize

you would have civilize

he/she/it would have civilize

we would have civilize

you would have civilize

they would have civilize

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been civilizing

you would have been civilizing

he/she/it would have been civilizing

we would have been civilizing

you would have been civilizing

they would have been civilizing

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you civilize
we let´s civilize
you civilize

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to civilize

Past participle

civilized

Present Participle

civilizing

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

SYNONYMS OF «CIVILIZE»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «civilize» and belong to the same grammatical category.

synonyms of civilize

cultivate · educate · enlighten · humanize · improve · polish · refine · sophisticate · tame

TRANSLATION OF CIVILIZE

Find out the translation of civilize to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of civilize from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «civilize» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 使文明
• Translator English - Spanish: civilizar
• English: civilize
• Translator English - Hindi: सभ्य बनाना
• Translator English - Arabic: تمدين
• Translator English - Russian: цивилизовать
• Translator English - Portuguese: civilizar
• Translator English - Bengali: সভ্য করা
• Translator English - French: civiliser
• Translator English - Malay: Bertamadun
• Translator English - German: zivilisieren
• Translator English - Japanese: 教化する
• Translator English - Korean: 개화시키다
• Translator English - Javanese: Civilize
• Translator English - Vietnamese: khai hóa
• Translator English - Tamil: நாகரிகமாக்கு
• Translator English - Marathi: सभ्यता
• Translator English - Turkish: uygarlaştırmak
• Translator English - Italian: civilizzare
• Translator English - Polish: ucywilizować
• Translator English - Ukrainian: цивілізувати
• Translator English - Romanian: civiliza
• Translator English - Greek: εκπολιτίσουν
• Translator English - Afrikaans: beskaaf
• Translator English - Swedish: civilisera
• Translator English - Norwegian: sivil

4 QUOTES WITH «CIVILIZE»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word civilize.

1

John Adams

The Hebrews have done more to civilize men than any other nation. If I were an atheist, and believed blind eternal fate, I should still believe that fate had ordained the Jews to be the most essential instrument for civilizing the nations.

2

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Either you think, or else others have to think for you and take power from you, pervert and discipline your natural tastes, civilize and sterilize you.

3

Luke Ford

I believed that English-speaking people had a divine mission to civilize the world by making it western, democratic and Christian.

4

John Lothrop Motley

When did one man ever civilize a people?

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «CIVILIZE»

Discover the use of civilize in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to civilize and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

A Mission to Civilize: The Republican Idea of Empire in ...

This is scholarship that will eventually provoke a significant change in the way modern French history is conceived, researched, and written." — Julia Clancy-Smith, University of Arizona

Alice L. Conklin, 1997

Mission to civilize: the French way

Characterizes the French way of seeing the world and probes the effects of France's age-old ability to fashion itself as a civilizing force

Mort Rosenblum, 1986

Black Spark, White Fire: Did African Explorers Civilize ...

It pieces together the forgotten story of an Age of Exploration that ended nearly 3,000 years before Columbus - a time when Egypt ruled the waves, Africa was the seat of learning and power, and Europe a savage frontier.

Richard Poe, 1997

George Steiner: A Reader

To. Civilize. our. Gentlemen. A man would have to be an outright optimist or gifted with self-deception to argue that all is well in the study and teaching of English literature. There is a distinct malaise in the field, a sense of things going wrong or  ...

George Steiner, 1987

Lets Civilize the Marriage Laws

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series.

Richard D. Kathrens, 2010

A World for All?: Global Civil Society in Political Theory ...

Composite 140 lpi at 45 degrees Can Global Civil Society Civilize the International? tive debate in which they are embedded, there are problems with reading the question of whether global civil society can civilize the international. The term ...

William Storrar, Peter J. Casarella, Paul Louis Metzger, 2011

A God of One's Own: Religion's Capacity for Peace and ...

The opposite threat is more alarming: that with the demise of secular universalism the foundations of rationality might be destroyed, since if that were so, it would undermine all efforts to civilize the potentials for conflict among the world ...

Ulrich Beck, 2010

Miscellany - Preface to Modern Thinkers

And then men went to work, finally, to civilize their gods, to civilize heaven, to give heaven the benefit of the freedom of this brave world. That's what we did. We wanted to civilize religion — civilize what is known as Christianity. And nothing on ...

Robert G. Ingersoll, 2007

Colonial Subjects: An African Intelligentsia and Atlantic Ideas

2. The. Race. to. Civilize. The. Roots. of. Colonial. Intellectual. Life,. 1840-18805. IN 1839 SOME SIXTY-SEVEN settlers from Sierra Leone arrived in Badagry in search of a better future. These pioneers were Saro, people of Yoruba descent ...

Philip Serge Zachernuk, 2000

Bishop Salvado's Plan to Civilize and Christianize ...

Early life of Bishop; foundation of the mission at New Norcia in 1847; contacts with Aborigines; education policies; agriculture and security of land; work of the Bishop for Aboriginal rights and work in policy making.

George Russo, 1972

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «CIVILIZE»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term civilize is used in the context of the following news items.

Ireland travel ideas: Things to do in Dublin and the western side of …

Spend some time at Trinity College (built by the Brits to civilize the Irish) – visit the Old Library and view the world-famous ancient Book of Kells. «PennLive.com, Jul 15»

How gay marriage paves the way for legal polygamy

Rauch wants marriage to civilize the sexual instinct, even among gay men. Savage and others want the sexual instinct to revise the terms of ... «The Week Magazine, Jul 15»

Is there a human right to kill?

... are frequently used by the state, and by conservative and even by liberal human rights organizations, to "civilize," in Achille Mbembe's words, ... «Middle East Monitor, Jul 15»

China vows to 'civilize' largely Muslim region

China's military has vowed to bring "modern civilisation" to the country's largely Muslim Uighur Xinjiang region, where separatists have been ... «GhanaWeb, Jul 15»

Is There a Human Right to Kill?

We are living in an era where human rights are used by the state and human rights organizations to “civilize” the ways of killing. Amnesty ... «The Nation., Jul 15»

Nkrumah, Nkrumaism, Nkrumaists and Nkrumacracy. Part One

In the first place, Nkrumah was pretty much like Kurtz, the character in Joseph Conrad's “Heart of Darkness” who set out to civilize the natives of ... «GhanaWeb, Jul 15»

Jack Warner hires top British lawyer to fight his extradition

The legal process is an attempt to civilize our emotions of revenge. Anything that's against lynch law seems to me to be a good thing,” ... «Curacao Chronicle, Jul 15»

For $350K You Can Spend Eternity In Manhattan

... Andrew Jackson Downing, visited Green-Wood, he was inspired by its potential to “largely civilize and refine the national character.” In short ... «Gothamist, Jun 15»

As Missoula marks 150 years, Native tribes look back further

Whites had been trickling in to "civilize" the region for years by the time Missoula got its start. John Owen opened his trading post at Stevensville ... «Ravalli Republic, Jun 15»

Stratford will end appeal of WPCA court rulings

I can post honest facts and opinions hoping to end the trespasses against us, the same way the Bible tried to civilize peoples. * People are free ... «Stratford Star, Jun 15»