civil

Word family

Related topics: Law, Civil

civ·il /ˈsɪvəl/ S3 W2 AWL adjectiveadj

1 [only before noun]COUNTRY/NATION relating to the people who live in a country 公民的，国民的

civil war/disturbance/unrest etc (=fighting etc between different groups of people living in the same country) 内战/内乱/平民动乱等

→ civil liberty , civil rights

2 [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 普通公民的；平民的；民用的；非军事的；非宗教的

They were married in a civil ceremony in May.

他们在五月份举行了世俗婚礼。

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 民事的 → civil law, criminal

Many civil cases can be settled out of court.

许多民事案件可以庭外和解。

4 POLITEpolite in a formal but not very friendly way 客气的；文明的；有礼貌的 → civility

Try at least to be civil.

至少要尽量礼貌一点。

► see thesaurus at polite

n COLLOCATIONS

nouns

civil 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 Dictionary

civilciv·il /ˈsɪvəl/ adjectiveadj [only before a noun]LAW

relating to legal cases concerning private problems or disagreements rather than crimes

He brought a civil suit against the company.

a senior lawyer who supervises all criminal and civil litigation in the division

Origin civil

(1300-1400) Old French Latin civilis, from civis; → CIVIC

civ·il adjectiveadj →n COLLOCATIONS1

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