civil war

noun

plural civil wars

: a war between opposing groups of citizens of the same country

a country on the brink of (a) civil war

—often used in the capitalized names of specific wars

the Spanish Civil War

(American/U.S.) Civil War monuments

Note: The American Civil War, fought 1861–1865 between the United States and 11 southern states that had seceded from it, is also commonly known as the U.S. Civil War, or especially in the U.S. as the War Between the States or simply the Civil War.

Examples of civil war in a Sentence

a region that has had many civil wars

The country is on the brink of civil war.

Recent Examples on the Web

Columbia has had a new president annually, and Harvard, like a small, suffering nation embroiled in civil war, has had more presidents than commencement parades. —Nathan Heller, The New Yorker, 3 Mar. 2025

Father Michelle Naaman, who was kidnapped during the civil war, complained that foreign fighters were manning some checkpoints, confusing the question of who represents the government and who are militia members. —Taylor Luck, The Christian Science Monitor, 25 Feb. 2025

However, his decision to send fighters to Syria to support President Bashar al-Assad in the country’s civil war marked a turning point. —Freddie Clayton, NBC News, 23 Feb. 2025

This would be the first year since the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement, which ended the civil war in Northern Island, that Sinn Fein’s leaders won’t be traveling to Washington for St. Patrick’s Day events. —Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 21 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1533, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for civil war

• albacore
• alongshore
• antiwar
• anymore
• blastopore
• carnivore
• commodore
• dinosaur
• evermore
• furthermore
• guarantor
• herbivore

Kids Definition

civil war

noun

: a war between opposing groups of citizens of the same country or nation