civilian
Americannoun
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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
- anticivilian adjective
- noncivilian noun
- procivilian adjective
Etymology
Origin of civilian
1350–1400; Middle English: student of civil law < Old French civilien (adj.); civil, -ian
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.
Balkhi condemned "the killing of innocent civilians" and called for diplomacy "preventing further escalation of the conflict".
From Barron's
The commission, the LAPD’s civilian oversight panel, ordered a study on the department’s license plate reader system that is expected to be completed this summer.
From Los Angeles Times
The minister said these attacks demonstrated how British military personnel and civilians were "at risk with a regime that is increasingly indiscriminate, widespread and uncontrolled in the attacks it is mounting".
From BBC
“We will not knowingly provide a product that puts America’s warfighters and civilians at risk.”
The United Arab Emirates said that two people were killed in Abu Dhabi, including a Pakistani civilian.
From Barron's
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.
