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

• courtesy
• gesture
• politeness
• manners

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

Republicans defended Kirk, condemning the political violence that led to his death and calling for civility. —Molly Beck, jsonline.com, 14 Oct. 2025

To Washington, a beard made a man look unkempt and slovenly, masking the higher emotions that civility required. —Maurizio Valsania, The Conversation, 2 Oct. 2025

Comments are moderated for civility. —New York Times Games, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025

Eisgruber also believes that speech should conform to norms of civility. —Louis Menand, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 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