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- pronunciation:
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wor
- features:
- Word Explorer
| part of speech: |
noun |
| definition 1: |
When people of the same country are fighting a war against each other, the war is called a "civil war."
Many countries have fought civil wars. For example, England fought a civil war in the 1600s. The United States fought a civil war in the 1800s. |
| definition 2: |
When Americans talk about the Civil War and use capital letters for it in writing, they mean the war that happened in the United States between 1861 and 1865. In this war, Southern states and Northern states fought against each other. Southern states wanted to break away from the United States and have their own country in which they could continue to make their own laws about slavery. The Northern states fought the war to prevent them from leaving the United States.
The Civil War tore the nation apart. More soldiers died in that war than in any other war that the United States has fought. |
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