civil

/ˈsɪv.əl/

//ˈsɪv.əl// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"civil" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“civil” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,245. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,245
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
8
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having to do with people and government office as opposed to the military or religion.

Corpus desk

Index EN-civil · civil · English

civil · rank #1,245 · 7 variants · 8 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,245
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 8 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cancer

Nearest frequency peer: cancer (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “civil”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “civil” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

civil vs coil
60% similar
civil vs COVID
0% similar
civil vs Cyril
40% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for civil
PropertyValue
Headwordcivil
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈsɪv.əl/
Letters5
Frequency rank#1,245
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “civil”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).civillands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “cancer” (#1,244), “dance” (#1,246), “biggest” (#1,243). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “civil” is #1,245. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around civil (IPA /ˈsɪv.əl/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #1,245 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for civil, with forms such as "ccivil", "ciivl", and "civill". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 8 confusable-pair relationships, "coil", "COVID", "Cyril", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English cyvyl, civil, borrowed from Old French civil, from Latin cīvīlis (“relating to a citizen”), from cīvis (“citizen”). Cognate with Old English hīwen (“household”), hīrǣden (“family”). More at hind; hird. The correct English form is civil, spelled C-I-V-I-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having to do with people and government office as opposed to the military or religion.
  2. 2
    Behaving in a reasonable or polite manner; avoiding displays of hostility.
  3. 3
    In a peaceful and well-ordered state.
  4. 4
    Relating to private relations among citizens, as opposed to criminal matters.
  5. 5
    Secular.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how civil appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. She went into civil service because she wanted to help the people.
  2. A third is wroth: ‘Is this an hour ⁠For private sorrow’s barren song, ⁠When more and more the people throng The chairs and thrones of civil power?’

Etymology

From Middle English cyvyl, civil, borrowed from Old French civil, from Latin cīvīlis (“relating to a citizen”), from cīvis (“citizen”). Cognate with Old English hīwen (“household”), hīrǣden (“family”). More at hind; hird.

This word in other languages

civil(Español)civil(Français)zivil(Deutsch)civil(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccivil
  • ciivl
  • civill
  • civli
  • civvil
  • cviil
  • icvil

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of civil - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ccivil1ciivl2civill1civli2civvil1cviil2icvil2
Edit distance from "civil"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "civil"?
"civil" is spelled C-I-V-I-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɪv.əl/.
What does "civil" mean?
As an adjective, "civil" means: Having to do with people and government office as opposed to the military or religion.
What words are commonly confused with "civil"?
"civil" is commonly confused with "coil", "COVID", "Cyril". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "civil"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "civil" is /ˈsɪv.əl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "civil"?
From Middle English cyvyl, civil, borrowed from Old French civil, from Latin cīvīlis (“relating to a citizen”), from cīvis (“citizen”). Cognate with Old English hīwen (“household”), hīrǣden (“family”). More at hind; hird. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "civil", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

dance#1,246stock#1,255trump#1,256reach#1,233

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

meant7 variantsbeach7 variantseffort7 variantsbattle7 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list