civil war

noun

plural civil wars

: a war between opposing groups of citizens of the same country

a country on the brink of (a) civil war

—often used in the capitalized names of specific wars

the Spanish Civil War

(American/U.S.) Civil War monuments

Note: The American Civil War, fought 1861–1865 between the United States and 11 southern states that had seceded from it, is also commonly known as the U.S. Civil War, or especially in the U.S. as the War Between the States or simply the Civil War.

Examples of civil war in a Sentence

a region that has had many civil wars

The country is on the brink of civil war.

Recent Examples on the Web

The two sides have been ruled by separate governments since 1949, after the end of the Chinese civil war. —Nectar Gan, CNN, 1 Oct. 2024

The current situation Al-Hadhrami is referring to is the country’s ongoing civil war. —Ella Feldman, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Oct. 2024

Some parts of that column, with a brief foray into Lebanese civil war (1975 - 1990) history, also discussed the wider regional implications of a Hezbollah collapse in the present. —Melik Kaylan, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2024

So much so, that when civil war broke out in Syria in 2011, Hezbollah emerged as a major actor in that conflict, sending thousands of Lebanese fighters to Syria to assist the government’s efforts to suppress a popular uprising. —Mireille Rebeiz, The Conversation, 28 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1533, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

civil war

noun

: a war between opposing groups of citizens of the same country or nation