civilize

Other spellings

• (UK) civilise

Pronunciation

• IPA ^(key): /ˈsɪvɪlaɪz/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: civ‧il‧ize

Verb

Plain form civilize

Third-person singular civilizes

Past tense civilized

Past participle civilized

Present participle civilizing

1. (transitive) When you civilize someone, you educate that person on how to have a higher standard of behavior.

   Our teacher civilized us today, stressing the importance of respecting others.

Related words

• civil
• civilization/civilisation
• uncivilized/uncivilised