civil rights
plural noun
: rights that citizens are guaranteed by their government through legislation or other government action to ensure equal opportunities (as for employment, education, housing, or voting) and equal protection under the law regardless of personal characteristics such as race, religion, or sex
especially
: the rights of personal liberty guaranteed to U.S. citizens by the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution and by acts of Congress
Note: The 13th Amendment (ratified 1865) abolished slavery and the 14th Amendment (ratified 1868) granted citizenship and equal rights to all people born or naturalized in the U.S., including formerly enslaved people and African Americans generally. The 15th Amendment (ratified 1870) guaranteed the right to vote regardless of color or former enslavement.
compare civil liberty see also civil rights movementExamples of civil rights in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Advertisement By the time of the civil rights movement, broader social and cultural changes had strengthened individuals’ sense of personal liberty, and activism challenged policy brutality and discretionary overreach.
—
Time, 16 Sep. 2025
The scrutiny and surveillance faced by Black organizations and civil rights leaders before the internet has morphed into a new form of scrutiny and surveillance.
—Janice Gassam Asare, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Redford discussed issues on his career that has included acting, film direction, producing, environmental issues, and civil rights.
—Hannah Parry
amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025
Wenger still faces sentencing in that case, regardless of how the civil rights trial pans out.
—Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for civil rights
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.
Time, 16 Sep. 2025
The scrutiny and surveillance faced by Black organizations and civil rights leaders before the internet has morphed into a new form of scrutiny and surveillance.
—Janice Gassam Asare, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Redford discussed issues on his career that has included acting, film direction, producing, environmental issues, and civil rights.
—Hannah Parry
amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025
Wenger still faces sentencing in that case, regardless of how the civil rights trial pans out.
—Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for civil rights
Cite this Entry
“Civil rights.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/civil%20rights. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share