Thesaurus results for CIVILIZE

civilize

verb

as in to cultivate

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of civilize This kind of boosterism—no less evident in Bernard Lewis’s highbrow argument in The New Yorker that Muslims fear modernity than in Niall Ferguson’s entreaties for the Bush Administration to resume the British Empire’s task of civilizing the natives—always seemed bafflingly sterile to me. —

Christine Smallwood, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026 Classic imperialism sought to bind disparate places together under a vast administrative structure, animated by a civilizing mission. —

Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2026 Biking in Copenhagen is civilized—collective pressure ensures hand signals and other forms of etiquette are strictly adhered to. —

Tamara Shopsin, Travel + Leisure, 16 Dec. 2025 If Providence gave Americans the right to civilize a continent, why not the world? —

Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for civilize

Recent Examples of Synonyms for civilize

Verb

Insider tip Yunnan and Kunming are known for their flowers, both wild and cultivated, so the hotel’s floral arrangements and garden landscapes are particularly beautiful.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 June 2026
Today’s grapefruit are less bitter than the ones your grandparents ate, having had the naringin—the compound that creates bitterness—largely cultivated out of them.

— Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, 11 June 2026