Example: "The people slowly progressed from barbarism to civilization"
Example: "Early mayan civilization"
Example: "A man of intellectual refinement"
Collectively, those people of the world considered to have a high standard of behavior and / or a high level of development. commonly subjectively used by people of one society to exclusively refer to their society, or their elite sub-group, or a few associated societies, implying all others, in time or geography or status, as something less than civilised, as savages or barbarians. cf refinement, elitism, civilised society, the civilised world