civility

/sɪˈvɪl.ɪ.ti/

//sɪˈvɪl.ɪ.ti// noun

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

"civility" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“civility” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #27,772. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#27,772
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Speech or behaviour that is fit for civil interactions; politeness, courtesy.

Corpus desk

Index EN-civility · civility · English

civility · rank #27,772 · 12 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #27,772
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH Cheung

Nearest frequency peer: Cheung (-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 “civility”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “civility” 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).

civility vs civilian
75% similar

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

Key facts for civility
PropertyValue
Headwordcivility
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/sɪˈvɪl.ɪ.ti/
Letters8
Frequency rank#27,772
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “civility”

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).civilitylands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Cheung” (#27,771), “clustering” (#27,773), “CNS” (#27,774). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “civility” is #27,772. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around civility (IPA /sɪˈvɪl.ɪ.ti/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #27,772 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for civility, with forms such as "ccivility", "ciivlity", and "civiilty". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "civilian", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin civilitas: compare French civilité. English equivalent civil + -ity. The correct English form is civility, spelled C-I-V-I-L-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Speech or behaviour that is fit for civil interactions; politeness, courtesy.
  2. 2
    An individual act or expression of polite behaviour; a courtesy.
  3. 3
    The state or fact of being civilized; civilization.
  4. 4
    A civil office; a civil capacity.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. This is an exact Inventory of what we found about the Body of the Man-Mountain, who uſed us with great Civility, and due Reſpect to your Majeſty's Commiſſion.
  2. December 1749 Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, letter to his son The insolent civility of a proud man is, if possible, more shocking than his rudeness could be.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin civilitas: compare French civilité. English equivalent civil + -ity.

This word in other languages

civismo(Español)politesse(Français)Anstand(Deutsch)civilidade(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccivility
  • ciivlity
  • civiilty
  • civilitty
  • civilityy
  • civiliyt
  • civillity
  • civiltiy
  • civliity
  • civvility
  • cviility
  • icvility

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of civility - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ccivility1ciivlity2civiilty2civilitty1civilityy1civiliyt2civillity1civiltiy2
Edit distance from "civility"

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 "civility"?
"civility" is spelled C-I-V-I-L-I-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /sɪˈvɪl.ɪ.ti/.
What does "civility" mean?
As a noun, "civility" means: Speech or behaviour that is fit for civil interactions; politeness, courtesy.
What words are commonly confused with "civility"?
"civility" is commonly confused with "civilian". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "civility"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "civility" is /sɪˈvɪl.ɪ.ti/. 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 "civility"?
Borrowed from Latin civilitas: compare French civilité. English equivalent civil + -ity. 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 "civility", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cheaters#27,769confetti#27,780Bromwich#27,757cortisol#27,791

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

daybreak12 variantsbleached12 variantsbackdoor12 variantsatrocity12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list