civil war
noun
plural civil wars
: a war between opposing groups of citizens of the same country
a country on the brink of (a) civil war
—often used in the capitalized names of specific warsthe Spanish Civil War
(American/U.S.) Civil War monuments
Note: The American Civil War, fought 1861–1865 between the United States and 11 southern states that had seceded from it, is also commonly known as the U.S. Civil War, or especially in the U.S. as the War Between the States or simply the Civil War.
Examples of civil war in a Sentence
a region that has had many civil wars
The country is on the brink of civil war.
Recent Examples on the Web
In the ongoing Yemeni civil war, close to 400,000 have died since 2014—and the number will go higher still.
—
Josef Joffe, The Atlantic, 14 Feb. 2026
More recently, political unrest and civil war in Yemen have prompted additional resettlement in places like New York, California, Texas, Illinois and Virginia.
—Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 14 Feb. 2026
The United Arab Emirates reportedly funded a camp in Ethiopia to train fighters of a Sudanese militia, a further sign of foreign powers stoking Sudan’s yearslong civil war.
—Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 10 Feb. 2026
The neighbourhood With a 1,600-mile-long coastline, Mozambique offers the Indian Ocean’s most underrated beach vacation, its low-key coastal enclaves saved from the overtourism that threatens to mar other idyllic destinations in the region by a civil war that only petered out in the late 1990s.
—Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for civil war
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Josef Joffe, The Atlantic, 14 Feb. 2026
More recently, political unrest and civil war in Yemen have prompted additional resettlement in places like New York, California, Texas, Illinois and Virginia.
—Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 14 Feb. 2026
The United Arab Emirates reportedly funded a camp in Ethiopia to train fighters of a Sudanese militia, a further sign of foreign powers stoking Sudan’s yearslong civil war.
—Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 10 Feb. 2026
The neighbourhood With a 1,600-mile-long coastline, Mozambique offers the Indian Ocean’s most underrated beach vacation, its low-key coastal enclaves saved from the overtourism that threatens to mar other idyllic destinations in the region by a civil war that only petered out in the late 1990s.
—Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for civil war
Cite this Entry
“Civil war.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/civil%20war. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
