From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcivilciv‧il /ˈsɪvəl/ ●●○ S3 W2 AWL adjective 1 [only before noun]COUNTRY/NATION relating to the people who live in a countrycivil war/disturbance/unrest etc (=fighting etc between different groups of people living in the same country) → civil liberty, civil rights2 [only before noun]PERSON/PEOPLE relating to the ordinary people or things in a country that are not part of military, government, or religious organizations They were married in a civil ceremony in May.3 [only before noun]SCL relating to the laws about the private affairs of citizens, such as laws about business or property, rather than laws about crime → civil law, criminal Many civil cases can be settled out of court.4 POLITEpolite in a formal but not very friendly way → civility Try at least to be civil.► see thesaurus at politeCOLLOCATIONSnounscivil war (=fighting between groups of people in the same country)His family fled Spain during the Spanish civil war.civil rights (=the right to vote, be treated fairly etc that everyone should have)Black people marched in defence of their civil rights.civil liberties/liberty (=the right to be free to do what you want within the law)Detention without trial threatens our civil liberties.civil disobedience/unrest (=when people protest or behave violently)Unemployment has provoked widespread civil unrest.civil disturbances/strife (=civil unrest)Troops have been called in to deal with civil disturbances.
Examples from the Corpus
civil• I know you don't like Phil, but try to be civil.• This concept is based on the fact that for both civil and military imports there is only one source of financing exports.• I expect a civil answer when I ask you a question.• civil aviation• Many civil cases can be settled out of court.• Since an exchange's rules are a civil contract, the prosecution only needs to meet the civil law standard of proof.• The internal organization of state policy-making has tended to reflect the lines of cleavage within dominant economic groups of civil society.• I wish you'd be a little more civil towards our guests.civil war/disturbance/unrest etc• Gandhi said the country was meaning a state of civil war.• We did it ourselves, without having civil wars.• A rising inflationary trend and a persistent fiscal deficit during 1990 were exacerbated by the continuing civil war and rising petrol prices.• The Merovingian civil wars, at least in the sixth century, were centripetal, rather than centrifugal.• It has fallen into semi-ruin since the civil war broke out two years ago.• We have to judge whether recognition of two republics now would increase the very real danger of civil war in other republics.• But psychologists say the damage done by El Salvador's civil war is also responsible for the rise in membership of gangs.• It is not civil war that is the greatest peril but anarchy.civil cases• Dalzell had proved himself equally restrained in civil cases.• Is that because of the racial difference or the difference in the burden of proof in criminal and civil cases?• It is available in criminal as well as civil cases.• The plaintiffs also benefited from the structure of civil cases.• Such cases could be met by adopting for civil cases a procedure similar to the Attorney-General's reference in criminal proceedings.• On June 3, the court ruled by 6:3 that lawyers in civil cases could not exclude potential jurors because of their race.• Figure 1.3 represents the appeal structure for civil cases, Figure 1.4 the appeal structure in criminal cases.• The illusion that juries are deciding our civil cases is encouraged by the judges themselves.From Longman Business Dictionarycivilciv‧il /ˈsɪvəl/ adjective [only before a noun]LAW relating to legal cases concerning private problems or disagreements rather than crimesHe brought a civil suit against the company.a senior lawyer who supervises all criminal and civil litigation in the divisionOrigin civil (1300-1400) Old French Latin civilis, from civis; → CIVIC 