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
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
-
These opportunities turn a viewing experience into a core memory that cultivates customer loyalty long after the event concludes.—
Ben Kruger,
Rolling Stone,
15 Jan. 2026
-
In her hands, cultivating counter-ideologies is a way for the vulnerable to hone their intuition, to trust themselves.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Conflict zones are likely to evolve through shifting alliances, urbanizing battlefields, and expanding involvement of regional actors, while armed groups and criminal networks may reorganize rapidly, creating new uncertainties for governments and humanitarian agencies.—
Amir Daftari,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Dec. 2025
-
During the party’s push to urbanize China in the 2000s, many farmers had to surrender even these meager rights in exchange for an apartment and a welfare check.—
Ian Johnson,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Civilize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/civilize. Accessed 18 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
