1. to bring out of a primitive or savage state; to educate and refine
Usage: British spelling
2. to cause to develop civil and orderly customs and institutions
Usage: British spelling

Examples

• The missionaries sought to civilise the remote tribes.
• Education helped civilise the rough frontier town.
• Trade routes began to civilise the isolated region.
• The new government worked to civilise the war-torn country.
• Libraries and schools helped civilise the growing settlement.
• Contact with other cultures began to civilise their society.