Civility — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

formal or perfunctory politeness

the act of showing regard for others

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/kɹˈoʊtənˌeɪt/

🇬🇧British English

/dɪspənsˈeɪʃənəl/

🇮🇳Indian English

/dɪspənsˈeɪʃənəl/

4 syllables Say it as /kɹˈoʊtənˌeɪt/.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

politeness

Antonyms

incivility

Word Forms

civil	adjective	not rude; marked by satisfactory (or especially minimal) adherence to social usages and sufficient but not noteworthy consideration for others; - W.S. Maugham
polite	adjective	showing regard for others in manners, speech, behavior, etc.

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Höflichkeit

formelle oder oberflächliche Höflichkeit

🇫🇷French

civilité

politesse formelle ou superficielle

🇪🇸Spanish

civilidad

cortesía formal o superficial

🇮🇹Italian

civiltà

cortesia formale o superficiale

🇳🇱Dutch

beleefdheid

formele of plichtmatige beleefdheid

🇵🇹Portuguese

civilidade

polidez formal ou superficial

🇷🇺Russian

вежливость

формальная или формальная вежливость

India

🇮🇳Hindi

शिष्टाचार

औपचारिक या दिखावटी विनम्रता

🇧🇩Bengali

সভ্যতা

আনুষ্ঠানিক বা অযৌক্তিক ভদ্রতা

🇮🇳Tamil

நாகரீகம்

முறையான அல்லது செயலாற்றும் பணிவு

🇮🇳Telugu

నాగరికత

అధికారిక లేదా పనికిమాలిన మర్యాద

🇮🇳Marathi

सभ्यता

औपचारिक किंवा अव्यवस्थित सभ्यता

🇮🇳Gujarati

સભ્યતા

ઔપચારિક અથવા અવ્યવસ્થિત નમ્રતા

🇮🇳Kannada

ನಾಗರಿಕತೆ

ಔಪಚಾರಿಕ ಅಥವಾ ಔಪಚಾರಿಕ ಸಭ್ಯತೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

നാഗരികത

ഔപചാരികമോ പ്രവർത്തനപരമോ ആയ മര്യാദ

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਸੱਭਿਅਕਤਾ

ਰਸਮੀ ਜਾਂ ਅਢੁੱਕਵੀਂ ਨਿਮਰਤਾ

🇵🇰Urdu

تہذیب

رسمی یا غیر معمولی شائستگی

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

礼貌

正式或敷衍的礼貌

🇯🇵Japanese

礼儀正しさ

形式的なまたはおざなりな礼儀正しさ

🇰🇷Korean

정중

형식적이거나 형식적인 공손함

🇻🇳Vietnamese

sự lịch sự

lịch sự hình thức hoặc chiếu lệ

🇹🇭Thai

ความสุภาพ

ความสุภาพที่เป็นทางการหรือลวกๆ

🇮🇩Indonesian

kesopanan

kesopanan formal atau asal-asalan

🇵🇭Filipino

pagkamagalang

pormal o perfunctory politeness

🇲🇾Malay

beradab

formal atau sopan santun

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

الكياسة

المجاملة الرسمية أو الروتينية

🇮🇷Persian

مدنیت

ادب رسمی یا ظاهری

🇹🇷Turkish

nezaket

resmi veya formalite gereği nezaket

🇮🇱Hebrew

אדיבות

נימוס רשמי או סתמי

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'civility'?

The primary meaning of 'civility' is 'formal or perfunctory politeness'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'civility' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'civility' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'civility' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'civility' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'civility' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'civility' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'civility' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'civility' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'civility' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'civility' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted