civil
adjective uk/ˈsɪv.əl/ us/ˈsɪv.əl/
(ORDINARY)
C1 [ before noun ]文职的;民用的;平民的，国民的
not military or religious, or relating to the ordinary people of a country
Helicopters are mainly used for military rather than civil use. 直升机主要用于军事而非民用。
After ten years of military dictatorship, the country now has a civil government. 经历了10年军事专制统治后，该国现在有了一个文官政府。
We weren't married in church, but we had a civil ceremony in a registry office. 我们没在教堂结婚，不过在婚姻登记处举行了个世俗仪式。
- More examples
- He brought civil proceedings against the police for false imprisonment.
- 20 years of civil strife have left the country's economy in ruins.
- He pursued his claim through the civil courts.
- They married in a civil ceremony.
- The equipment was all for civil use.
(LAW)
[ before noun ] law specialized民事的
relating to private arguments between people or organizations rather than criminal matters
The matter would be better dealt with in the civil court rather than by an expensive criminal proceeding. 这事最好在民事法庭处理，而不要进行昂贵的刑事诉讼。
(POLITE)
有礼貌的;文明的;客气的
polite and formal
His manner was civil, though not particularly friendly. 他的态度很客气，尽管不是特别友好。
Idioms
keep a civil tongue in your headidiom old-fashioned 别粗鲁！要讲礼貌！
used to tell someone to stop being rude
not have a civil word to say about someoneidiom 关于…说不出什么好话;对…没有任何好感
to not be able to think of anything good to say about someone