civil rights
plural noun
: rights that citizens are guaranteed by their government through legislation or other government action to ensure equal opportunities (as for employment, education, housing, or voting) and equal protection under the law regardless of personal characteristics such as race, religion, or sex
especially
: the rights of personal liberty guaranteed to U.S. citizens by the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution and by acts of Congress
Note: The 13th Amendment (ratified 1865) abolished slavery and the 14th Amendment (ratified 1868) granted citizenship and equal rights to all people born or naturalized in the U.S., including formerly enslaved people and African Americans generally. The 15th Amendment (ratified 1870) guaranteed the right to vote regardless of color or former enslavement.
compare civil liberty see also civil rights movementExamples of civil rights in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
She was identified Thursday as Ma de la Luz Mejia Rosas, according to the office of civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who said in a statement that he has been retained by her family.
—
Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 21 Jan. 2026
As loyalty and conformity often disguised as anticommunism suppressed the fervency for civil rights that punctuated the war years, Du Bois’s conflict increased in intensity for a Black America expecting an improved quality of life in peacetime.
—Literary Hub, 21 Jan. 2026
Dolores Huerta Labor leader and civil rights leader Dolores Huerta, an inaugural TIME Latino Leader in 2023 whose work with migrant farmworkers birthed the United Farm Workers of America, said in her toast that crucial to King’s legacy was his work with working people and the poor.
—Chad De Guzman, Time, 20 Jan. 2026
Rosas was identified in a statement obtained by PEOPLE from the office of civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who has been retained by the victim’s family.
—Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 20 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for civil rights
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 21 Jan. 2026
As loyalty and conformity often disguised as anticommunism suppressed the fervency for civil rights that punctuated the war years, Du Bois’s conflict increased in intensity for a Black America expecting an improved quality of life in peacetime.
—Literary Hub, 21 Jan. 2026
Dolores Huerta Labor leader and civil rights leader Dolores Huerta, an inaugural TIME Latino Leader in 2023 whose work with migrant farmworkers birthed the United Farm Workers of America, said in her toast that crucial to King’s legacy was his work with working people and the poor.
—Chad De Guzman, Time, 20 Jan. 2026
Rosas was identified in a statement obtained by PEOPLE from the office of civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who has been retained by the victim’s family.
—Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 20 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for civil rights
Cite this Entry
“Civil rights.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/civil%20rights. Accessed 27 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
