Civilization Meaning
/ˌsɪv.ɪ.laɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAn organized culture encompassing many communities, often on the scale of a nation or a people; a stage or system of social, political, or technical development.
nounHuman society, particularly civil society.
Sentence Examples
The opening of the country had a great influence on Japanese civilization.
We discovered relics of an ancient civilization.
Archaeologists are excavating the ruined temples of this ancient civilization.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
Ancient ____ flourished along the fertile banks of the Nile River.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The invention of writing was a major step for human ____ world.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from French civilisation, equivalent to civilize + -ation or civil + -ization.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"But civilizations, like the penis, rise and fall, and when the towers and battlements crumble into the earth, they return to the embrace of the Great Mother."
— 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., pages rise and fall:
"Civilisation has imbued man's minds with false ideas of the evil of sex and its fulfilment."
— 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 159:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Ancient ____ flourished along the fertile banks of the Nile River.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The invention of writing was a major step for human ____ world.