civilian

CEFRB2

/sɪˈvɪl.jən/

noun · adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A person who is not a member of the armed forces.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Relating to people who are not in the military.

Examples

  • He left the army and returned to civilian life.

  • The war has taken a terrible toll on the civilian population.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
3

Also pronounced

  • [sɪˈvɪl.jn̩]

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A person who does not belong to a particular group or engage in a particular activity, an outsider.

  2. One skilled in civil law.

  3. A person following the pursuits of civil life, especially one who is not an active member of the armed forces.

More examples

In context

  • An army never can be commanded or controlled by civilians.

  • The bathroom was for employees only, so civilians weren't allowed to use it.

  • Three civilians were apprehended by the soldiers and taken away in a military vehicle.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

A single blank was injured by the stray bullet near the school.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English cyvylien, from Old French civilien. Equivalent to civil + -ian.