Link Centre Dictionary

civilize

ci·vi·lize

US/ˈsɪvʌˌlaɪz/ uncommon

verb

1.

train to be discriminative in taste or judgment

  • “Cultivate your musical taste”
  • “Train your tastebuds”
  • “She is well schooled in poetry”
2.

raise from a barbaric to a civilized state

  • “The wild child found wandering in the forest was gradually civilized”
Synonyms

Origin

Borrowed from French civiliser, corresponding to civil + -ize.

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.