Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb civilize

2 senses of civilize

Sense 1
educate, school, train, cultivate, civilize, civilise -- (teach or refine to be discriminative in taste or judgment; "Cultivate your musical taste"; "Train your tastebuds"; "She is well schooled in poetry")
       => polish, refine, fine-tune, down -- (improve or perfect by pruning or polishing; "refine one's style of writing")

Sense 2
civilize, civilise -- (raise from a barbaric to a civilized state; "The wild child found wandering in the forest was gradually civilized")
       => change, alter, modify -- (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue")