civil war
noun
plural civil wars
: a war between opposing groups of citizens of the same country
a country on the brink of (a) civil war
—often used in the capitalized names of specific warsthe Spanish Civil War
(American/U.S.) Civil War monuments
Note: The American Civil War, fought 1861–1865 between the United States and 11 southern states that had seceded from it, is also commonly known as the U.S. Civil War, or especially in the U.S. as the War Between the States or simply the Civil War.
Examples of civil war in a Sentence
a region that has had many civil wars
The country is on the brink of civil war.
Recent Examples on the Web
Or how both my parents survived civil war and the Chinese Cultural Revolution.
—
Esther Lin, Time, 12 June 2025
That, and staying sane and alive in the first U.S. civil war.
—Teddy Wayne
june 10, Literary Hub, 10 June 2025
His warnings echo common refrains during El Salvador’s bloody civil war in the 1980s.
—Nelson Mauricio Rauda Zablah, Christian Science Monitor, 6 June 2025
Sudan plunged into civil war on April 15, 2023, when simmering tensions between the military and the RSF exploded into open warfare in the capital Khartoum and other parts of the country.
—Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 31 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for civil war
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.
Esther Lin, Time, 12 June 2025
That, and staying sane and alive in the first U.S. civil war.
—Teddy Wayne
june 10, Literary Hub, 10 June 2025
His warnings echo common refrains during El Salvador’s bloody civil war in the 1980s.
—Nelson Mauricio Rauda Zablah, Christian Science Monitor, 6 June 2025
Sudan plunged into civil war on April 15, 2023, when simmering tensions between the military and the RSF exploded into open warfare in the capital Khartoum and other parts of the country.
—Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 31 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for civil war
Cite this Entry
“Civil war.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/civil%20war. Accessed 16 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share