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

And just this past January, NPR also reported that nearly two dozen Colombian mercenaries died fighting in the Sudanese civil war. —Rebecca Johns, Miami Herald, 6 Sep. 2025

Despite the change, the country remains home to the longest-running civil war in the world since gaining its independence from the United Kingdom in 1948. —Bart Jansen, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2025

Given Libya’s Mediterranean-facing coastline, it is seen by many refugees fleeing Sudan as a gateway to Europe, with over 200,000 Sudanese people arriving into the country since the outbreak of the civil war, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). —Rory Fleming, CNN Money, 5 Sep. 2025

That has been Sudan’s lot during two years of brutal civil war—slaughter that has claimed some 150,000 lives and forced almost a quarter of its population of 50 million to flee their homes. —Charlie Campbell, Time, 4 Sep. 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