civilian

American  

[si-vil-yuhn] / sɪˈvɪl jən /

noun

• civilians
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• noncivilian
  noun
• anticivilian
  adjective
• procivilian
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• civilians
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of civilian

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

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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

See Examples For:

civilian civilians

"Military and civilian crews fought this fire throughout the night in some of the worst conditions imaginable, risking their lives to protect their fellow Canadians," Carney said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2026

The prime minister said military and civilian fire crews "fought this fire throughout the night in some of the worst conditions imaginable, risking their lives to protect their fellow Canadians".

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026

Distinguished military colleges can help introduce civilian student bodies to the idea of service by bringing the virtues and daily order of military life onto their campuses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

These programs provide students with military classes and training at civilian universities alongside civilian college degree requirements.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

One of the first things I learned in the hood is that there is a very fine line between civilian and criminal.

From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah

Ivan stressed that the aim is always to try to avoid harming civilians.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

The 43-year-old male driver of the vehicle was detained by civilians, Mason said, before being arrested by police, who found a knife in his car.

From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2026

Bass has also vowed to make a priority of addressing police shootings of civilians, particularly those involving people experiencing mental health crises.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Mourning Israeli civilians, she argued, did not negate the suffering of Palestinians or diminish the struggle against Israel’s government.

From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026

It was hardly necessary on the flat streets of Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon, as the locals still called it, but Artemis preferred to be as insulated from civilians as possible.

From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer

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Related Words

• citizen
• noncombatant

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