civilising
Bringing social polish
Civilising is the British spelling of civilizing—the present participle of civilize.
To civilise is to bring from a primitive or unrefined state to one considered more advanced or cultured: a civilising influence on the frontier.
The term carries colonial baggage, having justified imposing one culture's values on another.
More neutrally, it can mean making something more pleasant or orderly: Coffee has a civilising effect on my mornings.
Forward movement or promotion
- developmentProgress toward maturity
- modernizationAdoption of current methods
- enlightenmentProfound spiritual awakening
- improvementPositive change in quality
transformation · evolution · betterment · uplift · reform · humanising · domestication · taming
Ability to read, write
- pedagogyArt of instruction
- schoolingFormal education received
- instructionGuidance for action
- learningGaining knowledge gradually
teaching · scholarship · knowledge · enlightenment · edification · cultivation · mentoring · tutoring
Rules of polite conduct
- mannersCustoms of polite conduct
- polishSmooth by rubbing
- sophisticationCultured elegance and complexity
- cultivationFostering growth through care
taste · elegance · grace · courtesy · decorum · gentility · urbanity · politesse
Traditional practices or import taxes
- traditionsLong-established customs passed down
- ritualsCeremonial repeated practices
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- artsCreative disciplines collectively
literature · architecture · institutions · laws · governance · religion · philosophy · ethics
advancement
Forward movement or promotion
- developmentProgress toward maturity
- modernizationAdoption of current methods
- enlightenmentProfound spiritual awakening
improvement · transformation · evolution · betterment · uplift · reform · humanising · domestication · taming · pacification
literacy
Ability to read, write
- pedagogyArt of instruction
- schoolingFormal education received
- instructionGuidance for action
learning · teaching · scholarship · knowledge · enlightenment · edification · cultivation · mentoring · tutoring · acculturation
etiquette
Rules of polite conduct
- mannersCustoms of polite conduct
- polishSmooth by rubbing
- sophisticationCultured elegance and complexity
cultivation · taste · elegance · grace · courtesy · decorum · gentility · urbanity · politesse · propriety
customs
Traditional practices or import taxes
- traditionsLong-established customs passed down
- ritualsCeremonial repeated practices
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
arts · literature · architecture · institutions · laws · governance · religion · philosophy · ethics · values
civilisingbarbarizing
Making uncivilized or crude
savaging · coarsening · brutalizing · brutalising · degrading
civilisingcorrupting
Causing moral decay
debasing · degrading · demoralizing · depraving · brutalising
civilisingdestabilizing
Causing loss of equilibrium
destabilising · lawless · deinstitutionalizing · destructive · dismantling
civic, civilian, civilization, uncivilized, civility, civics, civilize, civilizing, civilised