Western civilization
22
3.6
- noun
- /ˈwɛstərn ˌsɪvɪləˈzeɪʃən/
:
civilización occidental
- The principles of democracy have become integral to Western civilization.
- the history of Western civilization
- the decline of Western civilization
- the development of Western civilization
And I asked him what Western civilization is.
- And I asked him what Western civilization is.
- Progress is the unfolding of Western society and Western civilization.
- He went to the oldest rebirth story in Western civilization, Noah's Ark.
- And the idea that the individual is sovereign is the core axiom of Western civilization, democracy itself.
- It's a gutsy project, one that will reconnect audiences with the very origins of Western civilization.
- Fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy.
- One of the great tunes of Western civilization has created joy to the world.
- In fact, it's the engine that makes Western civilization work.
- Donald Trump is the last hope of Western civilization.
- And so he's hugely influential for Western civilization, all this.
- I'm saying either it's that or it's the end of Western civilization as we've come to conceive of it.
- All I said was it's a Marxist organization designed to bring down Western civilisation and capitalism.
Examples
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Britain sought to protect Nigerian society from rapid disintegration arising from the impact of Western civilization.
Academic text (1991) -
If we can find him and stop him, we will perhaps not only save his life but prevent the collapse of Western civilization.
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What we're seeing here is the end of Western civilization as we know it.
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Without those forgotten men, Western civilization could not have come into being.
Fiction book (1996) -
What made Western civilization different was they didn't have kings.
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In recent years, I have become convinced that Western civilization is in its twilight phase.
Blog text (14) -
America has become the center of Western civilization... and what you're doing is the most original... and vigorous art in the country.
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There were three great citadels of Western civilization: Rome, Athens, and Jerusalem.
Academic text (2011) -
Western civilization must root out this evil, wherever it hides, or she risks defeat at the hands of global terror in a nuclear age.
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Traditional courses in Western civilization have been taught by scholars of every ideological hue.
Academic text (1991)
Synonyms
28
3.4
Countries in Europe, North America, and South America that have similar ways of life, governments, and economies
11
3.1
A group of shared ideas, customs, and ways of living from Europe and North America
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'western' (pertaining to the West) and 'civilization' (an organized culture or advanced society), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer it refers to the culture, values, and institutions of Western countries. This is a straightforward compositional noun phrase pattern found across many languages, making it immediately comprehensible rather than idiomatic.
Etymology
Western civilization began as a way to name the Western lands and their civilization, meaning the city life, laws and learning that came from ancient Greece and Rome. So, Western civilization now means the shared 'culture' and 'ways of life' these Western countries developed and spread.