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Civilize   /sˈɪvəlˌaɪz/   Listen
verb
Civilize  v. t.  (past & past part. civilized; pres. part. civilizing)  
1.
To reclaim from a savage state; to instruct in the rules and customs of civilization; to educate; to refine. "Yet blest that fate which did his arms dispose Her land to civilize, as to subdue."
2.
To admit as suitable to a civilized state. (Obs. or R.) "Civilizing adultery."
Synonyms: To polish; refine; humanize.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Civilize" Quotes from Famous Books



... on to state that to the primaeval civilization of America must be assigned a great and indefinite antiquity, leaving however no palpable monuments; but sending colonies to civilize China and Japan! is not this preposterous? where are the proofs either from traditions, languages, ...
— The Ancient Monuments of North and South America, 2nd ed. • C. S. Rafinesque
... country swarms with savages, living in much the same state as they were when the Spaniards invaded the country. They have never been conquered, and, in the rugged fastnesses of their land, bid defiance to all attempts to civilize them. From all we can learn, there are numerous groups of ruins scattered here and there—but of their nature we are, as yet, ...
— The Prehistoric World - Vanished Races • E. A. Allen
... "And civilize them, Allan? And bring them back and start a colony and make the world again? Oh, Allan, do you think we could?" she exclaimed, her ...
— Darkness and Dawn • George Allan England
... grants from the national treasury, and just before 1870 the Navajos were permitted to break up their homes at the Bosque Redondo and return to the canyons and cliffs of their ancient land. Millions were spent in conquering them where thousands were used to civilize them, so that they were conquered but not civilized. Still, they are making good progress, and have once more acquired large flocks and herds. It is estimated that they now have more than a million sheep. Their experience ...
— Canyons of the Colorado • J. W. Powell
... of their language:—a proof of the paucity of their numbers, and the gentle nature of their influence—the Phoenician Cadmus, the Egyptian Cecrops, the Phrygian Pelops, introduced no separate and alien tongue. Assisting to civilize the Greeks, they then became Greeks; their posterity merged and lost amid the ...
— Athens: Its Rise and Fall, Complete • Edward Bulwer-Lytton


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