Definition

1. Noun:
   • An advanced stage of human social development and organization: Refers to a complex society characterized by urban development, social stratification, a form of government, and symbolic systems of communication (like writing).
   • The process by which a society or place reaches such an advanced stage: The act or process of becoming civilized.
   • The comfort and convenience of modern life, considered as a whole: The state of having a refined culture, manners, and technological advancements.
   • All the people and societies of a particular region or period, collectively: A particular society that has developed its own culture and way of life at a specific time and place.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The study of ancient civilization reveals much about early human ingenuity.
  • The spread of civilization often followed major rivers like the Nile and the Tigris-Euphrates.
  • After weeks in the wilderness, he missed the comforts of civilization, like hot water and electricity.
  • The Indus Valley civilization was one of the world's earliest urban cultures.

Advanced Usage

• "a clash of civilizations": A theoretical concept describing conflict between cultural or religious identities, rather than between nation-states.
  • Some historians analyze global tensions as a clash of civilizations.
• "the cradle of civilization": A term for locations where civilization is understood to have emerged independently.
  • Mesopotamia is often called the cradle of civilization.

Variants and Related Words

• Civilize (verb): To bring to a more advanced stage of social development.
  • The mission aimed to civilize the remote tribe. (Note: This term is now often considered outdated and ethnocentric.)
• Civilized (adjective): Having an advanced or humane culture, society, or way of life; polite and well-mannered.
  • We had a very civilized discussion over dinner.
• Civilizational (adjective): Relating to civilization.
  • The artifact has great civilizational significance.

Synonyms

• Culture: The customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group.
• Society: The aggregate of people living together in a more or less ordered community.
• Development: The process of developing or being developed, especially to a more advanced state.

Related Phrases

• Advanced civilization: A society with highly developed science, technology, and social organization.
  • Scientists search for signs of advanced civilization on other planets.
• Collapse of a civilization: The fall or disintegration of a complex society.
  • The book examines the factors leading to the collapse of a civilization.

Related Idioms

• The march of civilization: The steady, seemingly inevitable progress of civilized society.
  • They believed the railroad represented the unstoppable march of civilization.
• A beacon of civilization: Something that represents or provides an ideal example of civilized life.
  • The library was seen as a beacon of civilization in the frontier town.

Noun

1. the quality of excellence in thought and manners and taste
   • a man of intellectual refinement
   • he is remembered for his generosity and civilization
2. a particular society at a particular time and place
   • early Mayan civilization
3. the social process whereby societies achieve an advanced stage of development and organization
4. a society in an advanced state of social development (e.g., with complex legal and political and religious organizations)
   • the people slowly progressed from barbarism to civilization