a small margin; "the president was not humbled by his narrow margin of victory"; "the landslide he had in the electoral college obscured the narrowness of a victory based on just 43% of the popular vote"
a society in an advanced state of social development (e.g., with complex legal and political and religious organizations); "the people slowly progressed from barbarism to civilization"
the social process whereby societies achieve civilization
acting in a manner that is gentle and mild and even-tempered; "his fingers have learned gentleness"; "suddenly her gigantic power melted into softness for the baby"; "even in the pulpit there are moments when mildness of manner is not enough"
a certain degree of unwillingness; "a reluctance to commit himself"; "his hesitancy revealed his basic indisposition"; "after some hesitation he agreed"
(physics) opposition to magnetic flux (analogous to electric resistance)