Cĭv'il-ī-zā'tion, n.

n. [Fr. civilisation.] 1. The act of civilizing, or the state of being civilized; refinement; culture. Our manners, our civilization, and all the good things connected with manners, and with civilization, have, in this European world of ours, depended for ages upon two principles —. I mean the spirit of a gentleman, and the spirit of religion. Burke. 2. (Law.) The act of rendering a criminal process civil. [Obs.]