civilize
American and Oxford British standard spelling of civiliseAmerican and Oxford British standard spelling of civilise.
» Europeans tried to civilize the tribe.
Europäer versuchten, den Stamm zu zivilisieren.
Meaning
1 sensesAmerican and Oxford British standard spelling of civilise.
- raise from a barbaric to a civilized state
- teach or refine to be discriminative in taste or judgment
Examples
6 sentencesEuropeans tried to civilize the tribe.
deEuropäer versuchten, den Stamm zu zivilisieren.
Bush only wants to civilize the world.
But when the federal government tried to ‘civilize’ tribal people, this sign language began to die out.
Such are the data that clearly show the bestial face of the colonialists, the essence of their "civilizing" activities in the colonies.
ruТаковы данные, ясно показывающие звериный лик колонизаторов, суть их "цивилизаторской" деятельности в колониях.
The US attempted to "civilize" Native Americans.
Origin
Borrowed from French civiliser, corresponding to civil + -ize.Borrowed from French civiliser, corresponding to civil + -ize.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
civilizes, civilizing, civilized, civilizedSynonyms
5 synonymsWord family
14 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle