civilize
verb
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Definition of civilize
1 : to cause to develop out of a primitive state especially : to bring to a technically advanced and rationally ordered stage of cultural development
: to acquire the customs and amenities of a civil community
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Examples of civilize in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The legislation reads like a 19th century missionary enterprise, a colonial experiment to civilize the brown folks. — Amro Ali, Time, "Denmark’s “Ghetto” Policies Are an Ominous Sign That Liberal Europe Is Starting to Unravel at the Seams," 3 July 2018 The city and the waterfront corporation need to take a more active role in civilizing Delaware Avenue. — Inga Saffron, Philly.com, "Will a new riverfront concert venue close the gap between Fishtown and the Delaware - or widen it?," 28 June 2018 By 1912, the vast majority of states had adopted practices intended to civilize voting. — Kate Keller, Smithsonian, "Why Are There Laws That Restrict What People Can Wear to the Polls?," 15 June 2018 Down a flight of stairs, away from the cars, the riverwalk was designed as a refuge from the hubbub, a civilizing force in the urban push and jangle. — Mary Schmich, chicagotribune.com, "Let's not wreck our riverwalk by letting it become a waterfront frat party," 17 May 2018 For nearly a hundred years the English and American Churches have been striving to civilize and Christianize Western Africa, and with what result? — Noel Rae, Time, "How Christian Slaveholders Used the Bible to Justify Slavery," 23 Feb. 2018 Harsh as the surrounding environment is, the building single-handedly civilizes this corner. — Inga Saffron, Philly.com, "These two new Philadelphia apartment buildings are civilizing the Vine Street Expressway," 4 Apr. 2018 The mission to civilize some in the NFL has obviously fallen on deaf ears. — Herbie Teope, NOLA.com, "Saints bringing in Muhammad Wilkerson on free-agent visit: source," 8 Mar. 2018 Such road diets aren’t novel as an effort to civilize urban thoroughfares. — Kevin Spear, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Curry Ford Road experiment will squeeze car lanes for bike lanes," 27 Feb. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'civilize.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for civilize
civilize
verb
English Language Learners Definition of civilize
: to teach (a person or group of people) to behave in a way that you think is more polite and gentle
: to make (something) more gentle, fair, reasonable, etc.
: to cause (a group of people) to have a more highly organized and modern way of living
See the full definition for civilize in the English Language Learners Dictionary
civilize
verb
\
Kids Definition of civilize
: to cause to have a more advanced or modern way of living
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