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
Trump closed with a dig at Harvard University, an institution his administration has targeted with a $2.3 billion funding freeze and federal civil rights probe.
—
Zac Anderson, USA Today, 3 May 2025
The budget proposal also calls for cutting grants to environmental organizations and eliminating the EPA's Environmental Justice Program, a division that enforced civil rights laws and ensured that all people received the same level of environmental protection.
—Matthew Glasser, ABC News, 2 May 2025
Reporting Highlights Hollowed Out: The administration has closed Education Department civil rights offices and fired workers.
—Jennifer Smith Richards, ProPublica, 2 May 2025
The Posse Comitatus Act in the most simplistic of terms eventually led to the rebellion that was the civil rights movement, and subsequent laws that have pushed for equality and equity.
—Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for civil rights
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Zac Anderson, USA Today, 3 May 2025
The budget proposal also calls for cutting grants to environmental organizations and eliminating the EPA's Environmental Justice Program, a division that enforced civil rights laws and ensured that all people received the same level of environmental protection.
—Matthew Glasser, ABC News, 2 May 2025
Reporting Highlights Hollowed Out: The administration has closed Education Department civil rights offices and fired workers.
—Jennifer Smith Richards, ProPublica, 2 May 2025
The Posse Comitatus Act in the most simplistic of terms eventually led to the rebellion that was the civil rights movement, and subsequent laws that have pushed for equality and equity.
—Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2025
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 7 May. 2025.
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