civilize
Bring to culture
To civilize is to bring from a primitive or wild state to a more developed, organized, or refined condition.
The word carries colonial baggage—historically used to justify imposing Western customs on indigenous peoples: a mission to civilize the natives.
In lighter use, it means to make someone more polite or cultured: Marriage civilized him.
A civilizing influence softens rough edges.
Smooth by rubbing
- cultivateGrow or develop purposefully
- sophisticateWorldly, cultured person
- elevateTo raise upward
- humanizeMake more relatable
ennoble · uplift · improve · better · gentle · temper · mellow · soften
Impart knowledge or wisdom
- teachImpart skills or knowledge
- instructConvey knowledge or orders
- schoolingFormal education received
- literacyAbility to read, write
knowledge · learning · scholarship · mentor · tutor · pedagogy · curriculum · academia
Make contemporary
- advanceMove or progress forward
- progressMovement toward improvement
- urbanizeMake into city
- industrializeDevelop manufacturing capacity
infrastructure · technology · innovation · development · improvement · transformation · colonize · settle
Rules of polite conduct
- decorumFitting social conduct
- courtesyRespectful, considerate behavior
- politenessCourteous, respectful conduct
- proprietyCorrectness of conduct
refinement · gentility · comportment · protocol · tact · grace · dignity · respectability
Long-established customs passed down
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
- ritualsCeremonial repeated practices
- ceremoniesFormal observances with ritual
beliefs · values · folklore · mythology · artifacts · religion · cuisine · art
How authority is exercised
- citizenshipStatus as state member
- democracyRule by the people
- institutionsEstablished organizations or practices
- legislationOfficial enactment of statutes
laws · nation-state · community · cooperation · constitution · judiciary · commonwealth · polity
polish
Smooth by rubbing
- cultivateGrow or develop purposefully
- sophisticateWorldly, cultured person
- elevateTo raise upward
humanize · ennoble · uplift · improve · better · gentle · temper · mellow · soften · hone
enlighten
Impart knowledge or wisdom
literacy · knowledge · learning · scholarship · mentor · tutor · pedagogy · curriculum · academia · intellectualize
modernize
Make contemporary
industrialize · infrastructure · technology · innovation · development · improvement · transformation · colonize · settle · domesticate
etiquette
Rules of polite conduct
- decorumFitting social conduct
- courtesyRespectful, considerate behavior
- politenessCourteous, respectful conduct
propriety · refinement · gentility · comportment · protocol · tact · grace · dignity · respectability · deportment
traditions
Long-established customs passed down
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
- ritualsCeremonial repeated practices
ceremonies · beliefs · values · folklore · mythology · artifacts · religion · cuisine · art · music
governance
How authority is exercised
- citizenshipStatus as state member
- democracyRule by the people
- institutionsEstablished organizations or practices
legislation · laws · nation-state · community · cooperation · constitution · judiciary · commonwealth · polity · statehood
- colonialismcolony, colonization, colonial rule, colonial powers, colonizer
civilizebarbarize
Make crude or uncivilized
regress · destabilize · savage · brutalize · tribalize
civilizebrutalise
Treat with savage cruelty
brutalize · dehumanize · barbarize · demoralize · corrupt
- civilian contractorsNonmilitary workers hired by government
- ancient civilizationsSocieties of the distant past
- civilian lossesNoncombatant casualties of conflict
- lost civilizationsDefunct ancient cultures
- civilian casualtiesNoncombatants killed in conflict
- Western civilizationEuro-American cultural tradition
civilian, civilized, civilization, uncivilized, civility, civilians, incivility, civilizing, civilizations