civilized
civ·i·lized/ˈsɪv.ɪ.laɪzd/adjective, verb
civilized is spelled C-I-V-I-L-I-Z-E-D: 9 letters and 3 syllables (civ·i·lized). It appears 3.3 times per million words in written English, the 14,509th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, civilized means “Having a highly developed society or culture; belonging to civilization” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in civilized?
| Letters | 9: C-I-V-I-L-I-Z-E-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: civ·i·lized |
| In writing | 3.3 times per million words; the 14,509th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is civilized?
Civilized appears 3.3 times per million words in written English, the 14,509th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce civilized?
- /ˈsɪv.ɪ.laɪzd/
Civilized has 3 syllables, split civ·i·lized in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-civilized.ogg, EN-AU_ck1_civilised.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of civilized
- more civilized comparative
- most civilized superlative
- civilised
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does civilized mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having a highly developed society or culture; belonging to civilization.
- 2
Showing evidence of moral and intellectual advancement; humane, reasonable, ethical.
- 3
Marked by refinement in taste and manners.
verb
- 1
simple past and past participle of civilize
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Civilized in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense having a highly developed society or culture:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | civilisé |
| German | zivilisiert |
| Spanish | civilizado |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.