civilian
Americannoun
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civilians
plural
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a person who is not on active duty with a military, naval, police, or fire fighting organization.
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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.
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a person versed in or studying Roman or civil law.
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Vocabulary lists containing civilian
We the People: Civ
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He and his colleagues were arrested in June 2025 over the allegedly unlawful appointment of a civilian to a key post within the intelligence unit.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
After the elections, Min Aung Hlaing -- who led the coup as armed forces chief -- took over as civilian president, handing the office of military leader to staunch loyalist Ye Win Oo.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
The reports include officers of all genders, but many cases involve a uniformed man stalking a civilian woman — or the people close to her.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026
"I think also to test the resilience of civilian communications and internet systems is very important," he said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
Juicy Fruit had been taken off the civilian market during the war, so Hanako had not seen any for years.
From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata
"But just calling it out will not protect the next aid worker. States must uphold international humanitarian law and use every tool to protect civilians and our colleagues," he said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
Both sides accuse each other of targeting civilians.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
“No civilians or deputies were injured during the incident.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
The IDF said Qusra was a "closed military zone" and so Israeli civilians - who were among the activists - could not enter the area.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
We got to the hamlet and just hung around while the civilians set up a screen and started showing Walt Disney movies.
From "Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
