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

Hezbollah members were elected to the Lebanese Parliament for the first time in 1992, following the end of the 15-year Lebanese civil war that had seen various religious and secular subgroups clash. —Nicole Narea, Vox, 18 Sep. 2024

Some archaeologists also interpreted obsidian spear points as a sign of past civil war. —Byrodrigo Pérez Ortega, science.org, 11 Sep. 2024

Faced with the prospect of civil war, the Scottish nobility asked England’s Edward I to choose a new ruler on their behalf. —Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Sep. 2024

The church and East Timor’s independence struggle Amid civil war, East Timor was annexed by Indonesia in 1976 and declared the country’s 27th province following Portugal’s democratization and its decision to shed its colonies the year before. —Christopher Lamb, Helen Regan and Kathleen Magramo, CNN, 9 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1533, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

civil war

noun

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