civilians
Not in uniform
Civilians are people not serving in the military or police forces.
The term distinguishes ordinary citizens from armed personnel, particularly in wartime contexts where international law protects civilians from deliberate attack: Thousands of civilians fled the bombing.
The word extends to anyone outside a particular profession: The report was written for civilians, not specialists.
Not of armed forces
- non-uniformedNot wearing official attire
- off-dutyNot at work
- demilitarizedCleared of armed forces
- peacetimeAbsence of armed conflict
private · non-governmental · domestic · homefront · stateside · demobilized · discharged · veteran
Members of a nation
- residentsPeople living somewhere
- inhabitantsPermanent occupants of place
- populationAll inhabitants combined
- publicAvailable to all
community · society · nationals · locals · denizens · townsfolk · villagers · urbanites
Having no weapons
- victimsThose who suffer harm
- collateralSecurity for debt
- defenselessWithout means to resist
- protectedKept from harm
casualties · bystanders · innocents · wartime · refugees · displaced · evacuees · sheltering
Those who observe events
- onlookersPeople observing an event
- spectatorsThose who observe events
- observersThose who watch events
- passersbyPeople going past
uninvolved · neutral · nonparticipants · affected · everyday · ordinary · unsuspecting · nearby
nonmilitary
Not of armed forces
- non-uniformedNot wearing official attire
- off-dutyNot at work
- demilitarizedCleared of armed forces
peacetime · private · non-governmental · domestic · homefront · stateside · demobilized · discharged · veteran · reintegrated
citizens
Members of a nation
- residentsPeople living somewhere
- inhabitantsPermanent occupants of place
- populationAll inhabitants combined
public · community · society · nationals · locals · denizens · townsfolk · villagers · urbanites · suburbanites
unarmed
Having no weapons
- victimsThose who suffer harm
- collateralSecurity for debt
- defenselessWithout means to resist
protected · casualties · bystanders · innocents · wartime · refugees · displaced · evacuees · sheltering · humanitarian
witnesses
Those who observe events
- onlookersPeople observing an event
- spectatorsThose who observe events
- observersThose who watch events
passersby · uninvolved · neutral · nonparticipants · affected · everyday · ordinary · unsuspecting · nearby · local
- things to protectwildlife, endangered species, children, privacy, secrets
- War Ethicsjust war, rules of war, rules of engagement, Geneva Conventions, Geneva Convention
- wartime protectionnon-combatants, safety zones, humanitarian corridors, safe havens, evacuation routes
- wartime civilianschildren, women, elderly, infants, nursing mothers
- peoplepeople, persons, person, individuals, humans
- nonexpertslaymen, laypeople, laypersons, laywomen, laity
civilianssoldiers
Military personnel who fight
military personnel · military · troops · combatants · servicemembers
civiliansmilitary personnel
Members of armed forces
enlisted · mercenaries · government forces · security forces
civilianscombatants
Those engaged in warfare
belligerents · enemy combatants · fighters · unlawful combatants · insurgents
- civilian contractorsNonmilitary workers hired by government
- civilian lossesNoncombatant casualties of conflict
- civilian casualtiesNoncombatants killed in conflict
- civilian lifeNon-military everyday existence
- civilian deathsNoncombatants killed in conflict
- civilian casualtyNon-military person harmed