adj. 1
Having to do with people and government office as opposed to the military or religion.
She went into civil service because she wanted to help the people.
adj. 2
Behaving in a reasonable or polite manner; avoiding displays of hostility.
It was very civil of him to stop the argument.
adj. 3
Relating to private relations among citizens, as opposed to criminal matters.

Related words

Word family: civilian civilize civility civilly civic civilization
Phrases: civil servant civil time civil union civil ensign civil partnership civil year civil day civil death

Choose the right word

Civil, Polite or Courteous?

Civil is a colder and more distant word than polite; courteous is fuller and richer, dealing often with greater matters, and is used only in the good sense.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

secular January is the first month in the secular calendar.
respectful I stood at a respectful distance from the old man.
civilized That practice has no place in a civilized society.
civic Because of coronavirus, civic life is shutting down in Algeria.
civilian The civilian unrest is showing no signs of abating.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
civil		steady
secular		rising
respectful		rising
civilized		steady
civic		rising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

5 letters: civic²
6 letters: social², polite², urbane², worldy, laical
7 letters: secular³, refined², profane², politic³, affable³, genteel²
8 letters: domestic³, civilian³, temporal³, gracious², amicable⁴, obliging³, debonair³, mannerly
9 letters: political⁴, municipal⁴, civilized³, attentive³, courteous³, civilised
10 letters: respectful³, neighborly³
11 letters: neighbourly³, ceremonious, complaisant³
13 letters: accommodating⁵

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (civic² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: civil
Italiano: civile
Deutsch: bürgerlich
Català: civil