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.); see civil, -ian

Explanation

The most common meaning for civilian is simply someone who is not in the military. It can also refer to any object that is not military in origin — e.g., "civilian clothes" or "civilian life." The meaning of civilian as a non military person is a relatively new one, dating from the early 19th century. Before that it referred to the code of law that governed non-military life. In fact for hundreds of years a civilian was somebody who was a judge or otherwise an expert on the law that applied outside military courts. Because it comes originally from a French word, remember to spell it with only one "l," even though it sounds like it should have two.

Example Sentences

Police officials announced the move Tuesday as the department’s civilian watchdog requested a review of behavior by all gang enforcement units citywide.

From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026

In a statement to the BBC it said that "no hospital, no drug rehabilitation centre, and no civilian facility was targeted", adding: "The targets were military and terrorist infrastructure."

From BBC • May 12, 2026

During World War II, the U.S. economy nearly doubled in size as a war economy was built on top of the civilian one.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 10, 2026

"We remind the civilian population of Kyiv and staff at foreign diplomatic missions once again of the need to leave the city in good time," the defence ministry said in a statement.

From Barron's • May 7, 2026

The Ministry of Health, in charge of TB control in the civilian sector, wanted most of the loan.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

Related Words

• citizen
• noncombatant