civility

noun

ci·​vil·​i·​ty sə-ˈvi-lə-tē 

plural civilities

1

a

: civilized conduct

especially : courtesy, politeness

bemoaned the decline of civility in our politics

b

: a polite act or expression

lacked the little civilities and hypocrisies of political society

—Roy Jenkins

The men briefly exchanged civilities before the meeting began.

2

archaic : training in the humanities

Synonyms

• amenity
• attention
• courtesy
• formality
• gesture
• pleasantry
• politeness

Examples of civility in a Sentence

They greeted each other with the usual exchange of civilities.

after the usual civilities, the parents and the principal had a serious talk about the boy

Recent Examples on the Web

Invoking the teachings of his old mentor, Nelson Mandela, Mr. Ramaphosa pleaded for civility in the dialogue between the two leaders. —Zolan Kanno-Youngs, New York Times, 22 May 2025

There is an unwritten civility contract girding every aspect of Canadian society. —Chris Jones, The Atlantic, 14 Mar. 2025

The civility pledge Village Board members approved Monday outlines a code of ethics or conduct to follow in discussing village matters and other official business with each other and with the public. —Mike Nolan, Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2025

Francis’s reforms were constrained to some extent if only to maintain civility between reigning pope and emeritus predecessor — a plot echoed in another film, 2019’s The Two Popes. —Howard Chua-Eoan, Mercury News, 22 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

see civil

First Known Use

1533, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for civility

• ability
• agility
• debility
• docility
• ductility
• facility
• fertility
• fragility
• futility
• gentility
• hostility
• humility

Kids Definition

civility

noun

ci·​vil·​i·​ty sə-ˈvil-ət-ē 

plural civilities

1

: civilized conduct

especially : courtesy sense 1, politeness

2

: a polite act or expression