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

Sudan plunged into a civil war more than two years ago, sparking what aid organizations have described as one of the world’s worst displacement and hunger crises. —Mark Scolforo, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2025

That peace shattered in 2011 when the civil war reached their city. —Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 18 Oct. 2025

Among the passengers was Qahtan Khalil, director of Syria’s air force intelligence, who was accused of being directly responsible for one of the bloodiest massacres of the country’s 13-year civil war. —Danny Makki, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025

Five Sudanese citizens — a civil servant, a tea lady, a resistance volunteer and two street boys who make money collecting plastic bottles — come together to share their memories, hopes and dreams in Khartoum, a caleidoscopic documentary about the civil war that started in the country in 2023. —Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 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