Meaning & use
civic responsibility
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A duty that people have as members of a community, such as voting, obeying laws, or helping others.
Grammar: Countable: 'a civic responsibility', 'civic responsibilities'; also used uncountably as a general idea.
Patterns
- a civic responsibility to do something
- civic responsibilities of citizens
- take on a civic responsibility
Voting in elections is widely seen as a basic civic responsibility.
The course teaches students about the civic responsibilities of living in a democracy.
Many people feel a civic responsibility to volunteer in their neighborhood.
noununcountable
The general idea that citizens should take part in public life and care for their community.
Grammar: No article when you talk about the idea in general, as in 'a lesson about civic responsibility'.
Patterns
- a sense of civic responsibility
- education for civic responsibility
The school builds a sense of civic responsibility through community projects.
Her book argues that civic responsibility has declined in recent decades.
Word forms
| plural | civic responsibilities |
|---|
Common combinations
- a sense of civic responsibility
- Volunteering gave him a strong sense of civic responsibility.
- civic responsibility to vote
- Many citizens see it as a civic responsibility to vote.
- fulfill a civic responsibility
- She fulfilled her civic responsibility by serving on the town council.
- teach civic responsibility
- The program aims to teach civic responsibility to teenagers.
- civic responsibility toward the community
- He felt a civic responsibility toward the community that raised him.
Synonyms and how they differ
- public duty
- More formal and broader; it can also refer to the duties of officials, not just ordinary citizens.
- citizenship
- Refers to the status and general behavior of being a citizen, while civic responsibility stresses specific duties.
Opposites
Word family
- civic adjective
- connected with a town, city, or citizens
- citizen noun
- a person who legally belongs to a country or community
- citizenship noun
- the state of being a citizen, or the behavior of a good citizen
Commonly confused: civic responsibility or civil responsibility?
civic responsibility vs civil responsibility
'Civil' relates to ordinary law rather than crime (civil courts, civil rights). 'Civic' relates to citizens and community life, so 'civic responsibility' is the usual phrase.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'civic responsibility' most naturally?
Choose one answer.
Serving on a public board is a duty toward the community, so 'civic responsibility' fits. Option 0 is about a private household task, and option 2 is about business profit, not duties to the community.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “civic responsibility”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.