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 of civility

• 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

But Edgecomb is among the Maine voters who remember LePage’s polarizing years as governor and decided to support his Democratic opponent, state auditor Matt Dunlap, citing a desire for more civility in Washington. — David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 27 Oct. 2026

But the civility evaporated as soon as Hedda’s column began pulling readers away from the Examiner. — Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 27 Oct. 2026

As there isn’t a scarcity of space and resources, everyone onboard is calmer, kinder—civility returns to the sky. — Laura Dannen Redman, Robb Report, 22 Oct. 2026

The civility of the evening was evident to former Sacramento City Councilmember Jay Schenirer, who has been a member of Congregation B’nai Israel for more than 40 years. — Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 6 Oct. 2026

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