civilize

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 Five decades of broken agreements have shown that side-deals and photo-ops cannot civilize a theocracy. Kazem Kazerounian, Hartford Courant, 29 May 2025 Under the guise of a civilizing mission, the empire of AI is accelerating its global expansion and entrenching its power. Karen Hao, The Atlantic, 15 May 2025 But Scandinavia has always struck me as unusually civilized. Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 14 Apr. 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
  • In the view of many faculty members, Baccarelli had undermined the public position Harvard spent months cultivating—as a beacon of academic integrity, unwilling to bend to the administration’s political pressure.
    Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 16 Oct. 2025
  • The model takes roughly two weeks to cultivate and mature, followed by a few days of drug testing – dramatically faster and cheaper than animal studies.
    Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 15 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • 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
  • As cities urbanize and increase in density, more buildings and underground utilities become spaces for rats, and more food becomes available for rodents to eat.
    Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 6 Feb. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Civilize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/civilize. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on civilize

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!