civilian

noun

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ci·vil·ian | \ sə-ˈvil-yən

also -ˈvi-yən \

Definition of civilian

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : a specialist in Roman or modern civil law

2a : one not on active duty in the armed services or not on a police or firefighting force

b : outsider sense 1

civilian

adjective

Definition of civilian (Entry 2 of 2)

1a : of, relating to, or made up of civilians civilian concerns/demands the civilian population civilian customers/casualties The Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom are the highest civilian honors in the United States.

b : having the status of a civilian a civilian pilot

2 : operated or controlled by civilians civilian industry : possessed by or vested in civilians civilian authority

3 : intended or suited for use or consumption by civilians civilian goods With twin 2,520-horsepower engines and up to 19 seats, the Sikorsky S-92 is among the world's most powerful civilian helicopters.— Josh Harkinson

Examples of civilian in a Sentence

Noun The bomb injured 12 civilians.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The 62-year-old civilian, who was pushing a bicycle by the side of the road, died on the spot after being shot, according to Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova. — Madeline Halpert, Forbes, 13 May 2022 Investigators found that, in April 2019, about six months before the Halloween incident, the two had refused to provide their names or badge numbers to a civilian. — Eric Umansky, ProPublica, 4 Feb. 2022 The result can mean harm to a police officer or to a civilian. — cleveland, 20 Dec. 2021 After attacking the Israeli civilian, the Palestinian, identified by authorities as a man in his 20s from Salfit, East Jerusalem, also attempted to use his knife to stab a border police officer, Israeli police said in a statement. — Washington Post, 4 Dec. 2021 But the coup came less than a month before Burhan was supposed to hand the leadership of the Sovereign Council that runs the country to a civilian -- a step that would have decreased the military's hold on power. — The Associated. Press, Arkansas Online, 27 Oct. 2021 The stability of Libya is the only way to complete building our civilian, security, and military institutions. — Noha Elhennawy, ajc, 21 Oct. 2021 Russian shelling in Kharkiv Oblast killed one civilian and injured two others. — Katya Soldak, Forbes, 1 May 2022 One civilian also suffered injuries related to the fire but refused transport. — Paul Best, Fox News, 24 Apr. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'civilian.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.