- 1[only before noun] connected with the people who live in a country civil unrest (= that is caused by groups of people within a country) see civil war
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- 2[only before noun] connected with the state rather than with religion or with the armed forces a civil marriage ceremony
- 3[only before noun] involving personal legal matters and not criminal law a civil court compare criminal see also civil law
- 4polite in a formal way but possibly not friendly The less time I have to spend being civil to him the better! opposite uncivil
NAmE//ˈsɪvəli//
adverb She greeted him civilly but with no sign of affection.See civil in the Oxford Advanced Learner's DictionaryCheck pronunciation: civil