Synonyms of civilization

civilization

noun

ˌsi-və-lə-ˈzā-shən 

1

as in lifestyle

the way people live at a particular time and place

a documentary on the advanced civilization created by the Mayas over a thousand years ago

Synonyms & Similar Words

• lifestyle
• culture
• society
• life
• manners
• values
• customs
• folklore
• tradition
• mores
• heritage
• legacy
• subculture
• subsociety

2

as in culture

a high level of taste and enlightenment as a result of extensive intellectual training and exposure to the arts

by the 18th century Boston had reached a level of civilization sufficiently advanced to support a circle of portrait painters

Synonyms & Similar Words

• culture
• accomplishment
• education
• cultivation
• refinement
• literacy
• knowledge
• manners
• learning
• scholarship
• polish
• intellectualism
• civility
• elegance
• couth
• cosmopolitanism
• intellectuality
• urbanity
• erudition
• sophistication
• breeding
• politeness
• gentility
• grace
• taste
• class
• genteelness
• courtesy
• courteousness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• barbarism
• ignorance
• illiteracy
• philistinism
• barbarianism
• parochialism
• provincialism
• rusticity
• vulgarity
• coarseness
• crudeness
• boorishness
• unsophistication
• churlishness
• clownishness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of civilization

There is no civilization or community in the world that does not need energy. — Zev Laine, Forbes.com, 23 Sep. 2026

But do distant worlds harbor the types of advanced spacefaring civilizations depicted in science fiction, or just far simpler microbes? — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 23 Sep. 2026

Liu’s Met commission, with its disembodied hands, its severing and suturing of the organic and the mechanical, may be a metaphor for a civilization detached from its foundations and coming to its end. — Lavender Au, ARTnews.com, 21 Sep. 2026

This is a character study of everyone who was caught in the undertow, and a look at all of us — as a civilization, really. — Kate Aurthur, Variety, 21 Sep. 2026