civic pride

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   A feeling of satisfaction and loyalty that people have about their own town, city, or community.

   Grammar: No plural and no 'a' directly before it; use it with 'a sense of' or 'great civic pride'.

   Patterns

   • a sense of civic pride
   • take civic pride in something
   • civic pride in something

   The new park has given the neighborhood a real sense of civic pride.

   Residents take civic pride in keeping the streets clean and the shops busy.

   Her speech about the town's history was full of civic pride.

2. 2noununcountable

   The shared pride a group feels when local achievements or places are recognized by outsiders.

   Grammar: Often used after verbs like 'show', 'feel', or 'express'.

   Patterns

   • show civic pride
   • feel civic pride

   When the team won the national cup, the whole city showed its civic pride.

   Volunteers cleaning the beach said they were expressing civic pride, not just doing a chore.

Common combinations

a sense of civic pride

Winning the award gave the whole town a sense of civic pride.

take civic pride in something

Many families take civic pride in the local festival.

civic pride in the community

The mayor spoke about civic pride in the community.

a source of civic pride

The restored theater is now a source of civic pride.

instill civic pride

Teachers try to instill civic pride in their students.

Synonyms and how they differ

local patriotism

Stronger and slightly more formal; it stresses loyalty rather than quiet satisfaction.

community spirit

Focuses on people helping each other, while civic pride focuses on feeling good about the place itself.

Opposites

Word family

civic adjective

relating to a town or city and the duties of its citizens

civically adverb

in a way that relates to a city or its citizens

civics noun

the school subject about government and citizens' duties

Commonly confused: civic pride or city pride?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “civic pride”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words