anticivilian
|an-ti-civ-il-ian|
🇺🇸
/ˌæn.ti.səˈvɪl.jən/
🇬🇧
/ˌæn.ti.sɪˈvɪl.jən/
against civilians
Etymology
'anticivilian' originates from Modern English, formed by the productive prefix 'anti-' (ultimately from Greek 'anti' meaning 'against') combined with 'civilian' (from Latin 'civilis' meaning 'of a citizen').
'civilian' derives from Latin 'civilis' → Old French 'civil' → Middle English 'civil'/'civilian'; 'anti-' is a Classical borrowing used as a prefix in Modern English. The compound 'anticivilian' was formed in recent English by joining these elements to mean 'against civilians'.
Initially a transparent coinage meaning 'against civilians', its usage has come to denote not only opposition to civilians but specifically actions or policies that intentionally target or fail to protect non-combatant populations.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a person, group, or policy that is opposed to or actively harms civilians; (rare) an advocate or practitioner of measures targeting civilian populations.
After ordering supplies to be blocked, he was labeled an anticivilian by relief organizations.
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Adjective 1
hostile to, directed against, or harmful to civilians; describing actions, tactics, or policies that target or do not protect non-combatant populations.
The militia adopted anticivilian tactics, striking crowded marketplaces and hospitals.
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Last updated: 2025/08/29 04:44