civilized
English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]- civilised (non-Oxford British English)
Pronunciation
[edit]Adjective
[edit]civilized (comparative more civilized, superlative most civilized)
- Having a highly developed society or culture; belonging to civilization.
- 1889, William T. Hornaday, The Extermination of the American Bison[1]:
- In the year 1521, when Cortez reached Anahuac, the American bison was seen for the first time by civilized Europeans, if we may be permitted to thus characterize the horde of blood thirsty plunder seekers who fought their way to the Aztec capital.
- 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 196:
- Like the wolf, man the hunter in killing the weak and unfit, actually works to maintain the health of the herd. But civilized man is quite a different animal, and when he wipes out an entire city or levels a forest, he is no longer working within the natural balance of things.
- Showing evidence of moral and intellectual advancement; humane, reasonable, ethical.
- Marked by refinement in taste and manners.
- 1963, Margery Allingham, “Off the Record”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 67:
- A waiter brought his aperitif, which was a small scotch and soda, and as he sipped it gratefully he sighed.
‘Civilized,’ he said to Mr. Campion. ‘Humanizing.’ […] ‘Cigars and summer days and women in big hats with swansdown face-powder, that’s what it reminds me of.’
- 1999, John Vernon, “Heat”, in A Book of Reasons, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin Company, →ISBN, page 17:
- In my worked-up state, I believed that a thermometer would dignify the sorry house I inherited, would endow it, however superficially, with a civilized bearing.
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]having a highly developed society or culture
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showing evidence of moral and intellectual advancement
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marked by refinement in taste and manners
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Verb
[edit]civilized
- simple past and past participle of civilize