civilization

noun6

1. •
   a large society with its own culture, laws, skills and ways of living, spread across many towns

   • Modern civilization is a product of industrialization and globalization.
2. •
   Human society, particularly civil society.

   • A hermit doesn't much care for civilization.
   • I'm glad to be back in civilization after a day with that rowdy family.
3. •
   Collectively, those people and places of the world considered to have a high standard of behavior and / or a high level of development. Commonly subjectively used by people of one society to exclusively refer to their society, or their elite sub-group, or a few associated societies, implying all others, in time or geography or status, as something less than civilised, as savages or barbarians. Compare refinement, elitism, civilised society, the Civilised World.

   • Some of the tourists in the upcountry might have embarrassed themselves if they'd been capable of having any shame, whining that they couldn't wait to get back to civilization.
4. •
   The act or process of civilizing or becoming civilized.

   • The teacher's civilization of the child was no easy task.
5. •
   The state or quality of being civilized.

   • He was a man of great civilization.
6. •
   (no longer used) The act of rendering a criminal process civil.