Word.ws English Dictionary

decivilise

decivilise is the alternative spelling of decivilize.

Meaning of decivilize

Verb

decivilize (third-person singular simple present decivilizes, present participle decivilizing, simple past and past participle decivilized)

  1. (transitive) To make less civilized.
    • Are we not in fact dicivilizing ourselves as we decivilize them? Why is there no outcry? Is it because we have cast off the delusion of human sanctity?2005, Marilynne Robinson, The Death of Adam: Essays on Modern Thought, →ISBN, page 74
  2. (intransitive) To become less civilized.
    • Or how beings such as ourselves—such as you now are— with lifespans measured in centuries and strength and endurance far beyond that of Terra- born humans, could decivilize so utterly?2003, David Weber, Empire from the ashes, →ISBN

Forms of decivilise

third-person singular presentdecivilises
present participledecivilising
past participledecivilised
pastdecivilised

Origin of decivilise

From de- + civilise.

Questions about decivilise

What is decivilise the alternative spelling of?
Decivilise is the alternative spelling of decivilize.

Words near decivilise in the dictionary

  1. decitizenize
  2. decitizenized
  3. decitizenizes
  4. decitizenizing
  5. decivilisation
  6. decivilise
  7. decivilised
  8. decivilises
  9. decivilising
  10. decivilization
  11. decivilize

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: decivilise (page history and authors); decivilize (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “decivilise.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/decivilise. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.