civilize

“We have to civilize a market that has gotten out of control,” said Ms. Colau, a former housing activist who rose to power with an organization that fought against foreclosures.

From New York Times ● Nov. 21, 2021

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

Most of “Darlin’ ” follows the title character, as she first resists the church’s plan to civilize her, then gradually begins to come around to the idea that she needs to be “saved.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2019

"What happened to 'aye'?" "I'm trying to civilize me speech—my speech."

From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood

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

The more the Government civilizes them and developes the country, the less plentiful the game becomes, and the less profit the Company can make.

From Two Months in the Camp of Big Bear by Theresa Gowanlock

They demonstrate that, together, freedom-loving nations are capable of defending a civilized international order.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

The miracle everyone pulls off is making a poisonous relationship dryly hilarious, even if every civilized exchange eventually becomes a figurative frying pan flying through the air.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

This is a civilized world we live in now.

From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026

“From ancient Persia of thousands of years ago to the civilized Iran of today, the spirit of Iran remains alive and steadfast,” the note read.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026

“Someday I may want to take you into civilized company.”

From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine

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

Love, in Marivaux’s world, is a civilizing force — much to the fairy’s fury.

From New York Times ● Apr. 26, 2024

Without the civilizing influence of true love, the widower returns to his roots, teaching Brooke how to track, shoot and lie.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2023

The French called this aspect of imperialism “the civilizing mission.”

From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022

“I placed this young man with you,” she says to me in a terrible quiet voice, “in the hopes that you might provide a civilizing influence. It appears that I was gravely mistaken.”

From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline