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.

---

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

---

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

Today, the risks surrounding technology transfers, data security, and supply chain disruptions, as well as the potential for dual-use technology diversion from civilian to military purposes, have grown exponentially.

From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026

A senior police official last week assured the department’s civilian bosses, the Police Commission, that none of the department’s own systems had been compromised.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026

Reports of civilian casualties from U.S. operations also muddy the death tolls, especially in Somalia and Yemen.

From Salon • Apr. 22, 2026

In recent days, there have been public fissures between Iran’s civilian leadership and military hard-liners in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps over how much to bend to U.S. demands.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 19, 2026

Minced in with them and stuffed or piled high with household gear and suitcases were civilian cars, buses, farm trucks and carts pushed by men and women or pulled by horses.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

Related Words

• citizen
• noncombatant