civilian

American  

[si-vil-yuhn] / sɪˈvɪl yən /

noun

1. a person who is not on active duty with a military, naval, police, or fire fighting organization.

2. Informal. anyone regarded by members of a profession, interest group, society, etc., as not belonging; nonprofessional; outsider.

   We need a producer to run the movie studio, not some civilian from the business world.

3. a person versed in or studying Roman or civil law.

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adjective

1. of, pertaining to, formed by, or administered by civilians.

civilian British  

/ sɪˈvɪljən /

noun

1. 1. a person whose primary occupation is civil or nonmilitary

   2. ( as modifier )

      civilian life

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Other Word Forms

• anticivilian adjective
• noncivilian noun
• procivilian adjective

Etymology

Origin of civilian

1350–1400; Middle English: student of civil law < Old French civilien (adj.); civil, -ian

Example Sentences

“Defendant endangered everyone — law enforcement and civilians in the area — and is lucky that, despite his actions, no one was injured,” the prosecutors’ sentencing memo said.

From Los Angeles Times

The Geneva Convention, the laws of war, bans attacks on infrastructure that cause excessive harm to civilians.

From BBC

Earlier this month, the nearby city of Aalborg said it would pull crucial funding for this year’s gathering unless the organizers rescinded invitations to U.S. military and civilian officials, including the ambassador.

From The Wall Street Journal

He’s a civilian now, high up in secret intelligence.

From Literature

Officials in the northern Chernigiv region said that Russian drones had targeted civilian infrastructure in the territory's main city, also called Chernigiv, without elaborating.

From Barron's

Related Words

• citizen
• noncombatant