civilisation and civilization differ by a single letter, buried far enough into the word to be easy to miss. civilisation means “the social process whereby societies achieve an advanced stage of development and organization”. civilization means “a society in an advanced state of social development (e.g., with complex legal and political and religious organizations)”. civilization is the more common of the two in everyday English.
1.n.the social process whereby societies achieve an advanced stage of development and organization
2.n.a particular society at a particular time and place
“early Mayan civilization”
3.n.a society in an advanced state of social development (e.g., with complex legal and political and religious organizations)
“the people slowly progressed from barbarism to civilization”
/ˌsɪvəlɪˈzeɪʃən/
1.n.a society in an advanced state of social development (e.g., with complex legal and political and religious organizations)
“the people slowly progressed from barbarism to civilization”
2.n.the social process whereby societies achieve an advanced stage of development and organization
3.n.a particular society at a particular time and place
“early Mayan civilization”
| civilisation | civilization | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | not recorded | /ˌsɪvəlɪˈzeɪʃən/ |
| Said | — | siv-uh-li-ZAY-shuhn |
| Syllables | 6 | 5 |
| Letters | 12 | 12 |
| Parts of speech | noun | noun |
| Senses | 4 | 4 |
| How common | Familiar | Common |
| Synonyms | civilization | civilisation |
Full entry for civilisation · Full entry for civilization · More comparisons