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
And virtually all women east of the Appalachians experienced the violence, sickness, and scarcity of a civil war in which front lines and home fronts were never far apart.
—
Jane Kamensky, The Atlantic, 10 Oct. 2025
Today, Venezuela has the largest population of exiles in the Americas and the second largest in the world after Syria — despite not being in a civil war — with more than 8 million people living abroad.
—Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 10 Oct. 2025
Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group funded by Iran, supported Assad and played a major role in Syria’s civil war.
—Mireille Rebeiz, The Conversation, 9 Oct. 2025
The words through torture and civil war in June 2002, the decisive stand against the same Ratsiraka who had returned to power from 1996 to 2002 and was vying for yet another term, who would rather cheat in the elections and cause a civil war instead of withdrawing in defeat from the polls.
—Literary Hub, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for civil war
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Jane Kamensky, The Atlantic, 10 Oct. 2025
Today, Venezuela has the largest population of exiles in the Americas and the second largest in the world after Syria — despite not being in a civil war — with more than 8 million people living abroad.
—Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 10 Oct. 2025
Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group funded by Iran, supported Assad and played a major role in Syria’s civil war.
—Mireille Rebeiz, The Conversation, 9 Oct. 2025
The words through torture and civil war in June 2002, the decisive stand against the same Ratsiraka who had returned to power from 1996 to 2002 and was vying for yet another term, who would rather cheat in the elections and cause a civil war instead of withdrawing in defeat from the polls.
—Literary Hub, 9 Oct. 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 15 Oct. 2025.
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