civilize

By the fifth century BCE, some of the larger villages of Macedon grew big enough to be considered cities, and elite Macedonians made efforts to civilize their country in the style of the southern Greeks.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2020

Without dogs, human beings would not have been able to civilize, as they did.

From Salon ● Nov. 10, 2019

But their aim is the same: to drag resplendent nature indoors to hyperbolize and civilize its beauty.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2018

Outdoor summer shows in New York go back to at least 1824, when military bands performed in Battery Park at the tip of Manhattan, part of an initiative to civilize the locals.

From New York Times ● Aug. 9, 2018

Then Miss Philips went to school and told Mr. Crabtree that she had a plan to civilize the Herdmans or, at least, one of them.

From "The Best School Year Ever" by Barbara Robinson

We sense early on, from Mortensen’s delicate handling of their courtship, that this isn’t some musty rehash of the trope where she civilizes him and he domesticates her.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2024

But there she is, one of the immortal characters of literature, and how can you not fall in love with somebody who civilizes savage people by telling them stories?

From New York Times ● Sep. 4, 2015

Far from revealing our barbarism, fighting civilizes us, Gottschall writes.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 15, 2015

It opened up a discussion about anonymity, pseudonymity and whether using real names civilizes the Internet.

From Forbes ● Oct. 15, 2012

He seized and tamed a continent with a hand of iron; he civilizes and controls it with a touch of velvet.

From Model Speeches for Practise by Grenville Kleiser

"Such behavior should not be tolerated in the civilized world," Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo said in a statement, thanking US judicial authorities for "their assistance and protection of our citizens."

From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026

“There used to be a pillory in every civilized town,” Pattinson’s Hansen remarks about the state of justice.

From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026

For years, Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner has been portrayed as the civilized way to travel to and from San Diego.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

Wilson, the food writer, said that lunch is more civilized.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026

There was no doubt that Fowl was a danger to the civilized underworld.

From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer

Heaney was born with a subject he often resisted, and “Digging” turns away from violence to the civilizing necessity of work.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

Smith seems to want to say something about the civilizing influence of women and their survival in a world of unruly and domineering men.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 9, 2025

“They believed that their society was making progress, that it was gaining greater control over nature, that they were becoming more civilized and were civilizing the environment around them,” Golinski said.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 26, 2023

“Never darken my door again!” he thunders old-fashionedly, as though he’s subconsciously aware that the writers Kirsi Vikman and Jimmy Karlsson are drawing on centuries of love stories about savage men and civilizing women.

From New York Times ● Sep. 21, 2023

But then, it seemed as if the Indians had been helpful to the settlers as well, so I didn’t see why they needed civilizing.

From "It All Comes Down to This" by Karen English