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Recent Examples of civilize
Practically speaking, if your checklist is mostly phones and a CPAP, a mid-size electric battery station is civilized: quiet, indoor-safe and instantly useful.
—
Jennifer Jolly, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025
In this view, other European immigrants were unsuitable for civilizing the frontier—Southern Europeans were effete and decadent while Eastern European Jews were hapless in the woods and better-suited to urban, commercial spaces.
—Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 5 June 2025
Five decades of broken agreements have shown that side-deals and photo-ops cannot civilize a theocracy.
—Kazem Kazerounian, Hartford Courant, 29 May 2025
Colonial empires were founded upon understandings of racial hierarchy and civilizing missions.
—Alexander Cooley, Foreign Affairs, 26 Mar. 2021
See All Example Sentences for civilize
Jennifer Jolly, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025
In this view, other European immigrants were unsuitable for civilizing the frontier—Southern Europeans were effete and decadent while Eastern European Jews were hapless in the woods and better-suited to urban, commercial spaces.
—Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 5 June 2025
Five decades of broken agreements have shown that side-deals and photo-ops cannot civilize a theocracy.
—Kazem Kazerounian, Hartford Courant, 29 May 2025
Colonial empires were founded upon understandings of racial hierarchy and civilizing missions.
—Alexander Cooley, Foreign Affairs, 26 Mar. 2021
See All Example Sentences for civilize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for civilize
Verb
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The game has cultivated a fanbase that is generally kind and patient, increasingly rare qualities in the gaming world, and online more broadly.—
Jacqui Palumbo,
CNN Money,
26 Feb. 2026
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But there are indeed upsides to living in New England during deep winter, one being the chance to amp up the hygge — the Danish term (pronounced hue-gah) for their concept of cultivating coziness.—
Gretta Monahan,
Boston Herald,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Farmers in the modern world Farmers’ contribution to the Cold War shored up their cultural and political importance in a rapidly industrializing and urbanizing United States.—
Peter Simons,
The Conversation,
16 Jan. 2026
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Farmers in the modern world Farmers’ contribution to the Cold War shored up their cultural and political importance in a rapidly industrializing and urbanizing United States.—
Peter Simons,
Fortune,
14 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Civilize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/civilize. Accessed 27 Feb. 2026.
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