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Civilian vs Surveillance - What's the difference?

civilian | surveillance |

As nouns the difference between civilian and surveillance

is that civilian is a person following the pursuits of civil life, especially one who is not an active member of the armed forces while surveillance is close observation of an individual or group; person or persons under suspicion.

As an adjective civilian

is that which is not related to the military, police or other uniformed profession.

civilian

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • A person following the pursuits of civil life, especially one who is not an active member of the armed forces.
  • (label) A person who does not belong to a particular group or engage in a particular activity.
  • One skilled in civil law.
  • * Jonathan Swift
  • A student of civil law at a university or college.
  • Adjective

    (-)
  • That which is not related to the military, police or other uniformed profession
  • surveillance

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Close observation of an individual or group; person or persons under suspicion.
  • Continuous monitoring of disease occurrence for example.
  • (military, espionage) Systematic observation of places and people by visual, aural, electronic, photographic or other means.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2012-12-14
  • , author=Simon Jenkins, authorlink=Simon Jenkins , title=We mustn't overreact to North Korea boys' toys , volume=188, issue=2, page=23 , date=2012-12-21 , magazine= citation , passage=The threat of terrorism to the British lies in the overreaction to it of British governments. Each one in turn clicks up the ratchet of surveillance , intrusion and security. Each one diminishes liberty.}}
  • (legal) In criminal law, an investigation process by which police gather evidence about crimes, or suspected crime, through continued observation of persons or places.
  • Derived terms

    * uberveillance

    See also

    * wiretapping * shadowing * tailing * lookout (act) * sousveillance English words not following the I before E except after C rule ----