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 warsthe 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
Nga Vương-Sandoval, the executive director of Refugees + Immigrants United Colorado, contends that the reasons why migrants leave their home countries today — political persecution and civil wars, gang violence, climate change, economic collapse and more — are myriad and nuanced.
—
Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, Denver Post, 6 July 2025
In November 2015, as millions of people were fleeing Syria after a civil war broke out, then-Gov. Mike Pence banned them from resettling in Indiana after Syrians were implicated in terrorist attacks in Paris.
—Noe Padilla, IndyStar, 2 July 2025
Gallo is the child of Salvadoran immigrants who escaped their country’s civil war in 1980 and lived undocumented in the U.S.
—Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2025
Fans, media, rappers, and everyone in between can’t seem to stop talking about the 2024 rap civil war.
—Armon Sadler, VIBE.com, 26 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for civil war
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Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, Denver Post, 6 July 2025
In November 2015, as millions of people were fleeing Syria after a civil war broke out, then-Gov. Mike Pence banned them from resettling in Indiana after Syrians were implicated in terrorist attacks in Paris.
—Noe Padilla, IndyStar, 2 July 2025
Gallo is the child of Salvadoran immigrants who escaped their country’s civil war in 1980 and lived undocumented in the U.S.
—Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2025
Fans, media, rappers, and everyone in between can’t seem to stop talking about the 2024 rap civil war.
—Armon Sadler, VIBE.com, 26 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for civil war
Cite this Entry
“Civil war.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/civil%20war. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.
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