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# civilization

noun (civilization, civilizations; UK also civilisation)

«civilization» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A large, organised society with cities, government, laws, writing, art and trade: «the ancient Egyptian civilization». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/civilization/#m1)
2. Human society in general, especially its achievements: «the history of civilization». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/civilization/#m2)
3. (informal, humorous) Comfortable modern life with shops, toilets and internet: «After camping we were glad to be back in civilization.» [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/civilization/#m3)

### In the lessons

In history lessons pupils study early civilizations: Sumer, Egypt, the Indus Valley, China, Greece, Rome, the Maya, the Aztecs and the Benin Kingdom. These had farming, cities, writing and rulers. Be careful: calling some peoples «civilized» and others «uncivilized» was used in the past to justify unfair treatment.

### Examples

- The ancient Egyptian civilization built the pyramids. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/civilization/#x1)
- Writing is one sign of a civilization. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/civilization/#x2)
- The Maya civilization had its own calendar. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/civilization/#x3)
- After a week of camping we were happy to be back in civilization. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/civilization/#x4)
- The Indus Valley civilization had drains and toilets. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/civilization/#x5)
- Rivers helped early civilizations grow food. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/civilization/#x6)
- All the means used by centuries of civilization in subduing wild beasts failed in this case. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/civilization/#x7)

### Note

Spelling: UK often «civilisation», US «civilization»; both are correct (Oxford spelling uses -ization). Adjective: civilized/civilised (polite, well-ordered). Countable for different civilizations.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «civilization» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/civilization/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«civilization» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/civilization.html) on Mova free.