civil rights
plural noun
: the nonpolitical rights of a citizen
especially
: the rights of personal liberty guaranteed to U.S. citizens by the 13th and 14th amendments to the Constitution and by acts of Congress
was charged with violating the victim's civil rights
Examples of civil rights in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Writer, poet and activist James Baldwin (1924-1987) was one of the leading literary voices of the civil rights movement.
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James Baldwin, CBS News, 10 Aug. 2024
Days of civil rights protests followed locally and around the world.
—Lorenzino Estrada, The Arizona Republic, 9 Aug. 2024
The young civil rights attorney who expertly organized that boycott and therefore helped deliver the election to Shelley was Willie Brown.
—Lincoln Mitchell, The Conversation, 9 Aug. 2024
Psychedelics fueled a sense of interconnectedness and empathy, which were pivotal in rallying people against the Vietnam War and supporting the fight for civil rights.
—Milan Kordestani, Rolling Stone, 9 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for civil rights 
James Baldwin, CBS News, 10 Aug. 2024
Days of civil rights protests followed locally and around the world.
—Lorenzino Estrada, The Arizona Republic, 9 Aug. 2024
The young civil rights attorney who expertly organized that boycott and therefore helped deliver the election to Shelley was Willie Brown.
—Lincoln Mitchell, The Conversation, 9 Aug. 2024
Psychedelics fueled a sense of interconnectedness and empathy, which were pivotal in rallying people against the Vietnam War and supporting the fight for civil rights.
—Milan Kordestani, Rolling Stone, 9 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for civil rights
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'civil rights.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Civil rights.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/civil%20rights. Accessed 18 Aug. 2024.
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