Civilised

How to spell civilised

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce civilised

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does civilised mean?

1. adjectiveMarked by an advanced, orderly society or by polite, considerate behaviour.

Civilised in a sentence

• The meeting stayed calm and civilised despite the disagreement over budgets.

• A reliable water supply is something every civilised city should provide.

Where does civilised come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word grows from the Latin civilis, meaning 'relating to a citizen or to the community of citizens', which was itself built on civis, the ordinary Latin word for a 'citizen'. The same root gave English a whole family of related words, including civil, civic, civilian and city, all carrying the idea of people living together under shared rules. English took 'civil' from Old French during the 1300s, and by the 1700s writers had coined the verb 'civilise', meaning to bring people or societies into an organised, orderly condition associated with settled city life. The adjective 'civilised' then described a society or person shaped by that refinement of manners and institutions. In British usage the verb takes the -ise ending, so the past-participle adjective keeps the s in 'civilised'; the spelling trap lies in that single soft middle vowel and the -ise rather than -ize ending.

How the word is built

• civil- (from Latin civilis: relating to citizens)
• -ise (verb-forming suffix)
• -d (past participle/adjective ending)

British and American spelling

Civilised is the British spelling. American English spells it civilized.