be civil

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“While we may not agree with everything America does,” Fouracres’ prime minister says at the end of the cold open, “we can still be civil and embrace their wonderful, unproblematic culture.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2026

In some cases, reconciliation might be partial - being able to go to the same family functions and be civil, for example.

From BBC • Jan. 31, 2026

“We would like to be civil servants, soldiers, prosecutors…just like we were in Ottoman times.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 1, 2025

“It is supposed to be civil detention, but… it is a jail,” Michael Lukens of the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, told NBC News in March.

From Salon • Jun. 24, 2025

It was hard for me to be civil, and seriously, she couldn’t have missed the tension spilling out of the car alongside the battered boxes.

From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx