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

The civil war was for years a Cold War proxy conflict, with the United States and apartheid South Africa backing one side and the Soviet Union and Cuba backing the other. —ABC News, 18 Apr. 2026

But while Beirut had taken significant steps to assert its control over southern Lebanon before the war, authorities have been unwilling to risk a civil war by fully confronting the heavily armed group. —Abby Sewell, Chicago Tribune, 17 Apr. 2026

Her The Kindred’s Curse Saga series follows healer Diem Bellator as the search for her missing mother pulls her into a growing civil war between the oppressed mortals of Emarion and the magic-wielding demigods known as the Descended. —Denise Petski, Deadline, 17 Apr. 2026

It's estimated that at least 150,000 people have died in the civil war in Sudan that began in April 2023, the BBC previously reported. —Janine Henni, PEOPLE, 17 Apr. 2026

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