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 wars

the 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

During China’s civil war, when the Red Army was relegated to Shaanxi’s mountains during the Yan’an period after the Long March, the party embraced its abundance of coal. —Wesley Alexander Hill, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2025

Even the currency board that John Maynard Keynes installed in Archangel during Russia’s civil war (1918) worked without a glitch. —Steve H. Hanke, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2025

Unlike many global crises, Belarus is not mired in civil war, ethnic conflict, or ideological divisions. —Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Foreign Affairs, 8 Aug. 2025

After the Soviet Union collapsed, the ship was transferred to Russia's Northern Fleet and was used in Russia's intervention in the Syrian civil war. —Brendan Cole, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1533, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for civil war

• albacore
• alongshore
• antiwar
• anymore
• blastopore
• carnivore
• commodore
• dinosaur
• evermore
• furthermore
• guarantor
• herbivore

Kids Definition

civil war

noun

: a war between opposing groups of citizens of the same country or nation