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

Suu Kyi, 80, has been detained by the junta since and her whereabouts have been unclear amid a deadly civil war that was triggered by the February 2021 coup that has engulfed much of the impoverished Southeast Asian nation. —CNN Money, 1 May 2026

So the family fled back to their home in Aleppo, which was once the site of some of the civil war’s fiercest battles but now offered a safe haven. —Abby Sewell, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026

But this became a civil war between millionaire golfers with some moral backbone and tens-of-millionaires without any. —Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 30 Apr. 2026

The food crisis in Sudan, where there has been an ongoing civil war for years, is extreme. —Bart Jansen, USA Today, 30 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