Definition of "civilian" []

• A person following the pursuits of civil life, especially one who is not an active member of the military, the police, or a belligerent group. (noun)
• A person who does not belong to a particular group or engage in a particular activity. (noun)
• A specialist in Roman or civil law. (noun)
• Of or relating to civilians or civil life; nonmilitary: civilian clothes; a civilian career. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Vowing to "let the enlightening begin", Mr Balkhi countered by quoting an explanation of the term 'civilian' as defined by the United Nations mission in Afghanistan, to which the ISAF representative replied: "Considering the Taliban's civilian casualty count during Eid, lecturing us on the definition of civilian is a bit of a joke.""
• "I like to think of myself as a "civilian in uniform", an ordinary person who does, full-time, what most people would do anyway; consequently, I don't really like the term civilian, the opposite of which is jack-booted paramilitary thug (a term which I prefer, but isn't very user friendly)."
• "Thus, PMC contractors are civilians (in governmental, international, and civil organizations) authorized to accompany an army to the field; hence, the term civilian contractor."