colonial

adjective co·lo·nial \ kə-ˈlō-nē-əl , -nyəl \

Updated on: 19 May 2018

Definition of colonial

1 : of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony

2 often capitalized : of or relating to the original 13 colonies forming the United States: such as

a : made or prevailing in America during the colonial period

colonial architecture

b : adapted from or reminiscent of an American colonial mode of design

colonial furniture

3 : forming or existing in a colony

colonial organisms

4 : possessing or composed of colonies

a colonial empire

—

colonialize

play \kə-ˈlō-nē-ə-ˌlīz, -nyə-ˌlīz\ transitive verb

—

colonially

adverb

—

colonialness

noun

See colonial defined for English-language learners

See colonial defined for kids

Examples of colonial in a Sentence

The country was a colonial power.
a colonial nation and its colonial empire
The book describes life in Colonial America.
an example of colonial architecture
The port had been very important in colonial times.

Recent Examples of colonial from the Web

The city, founded in 1541, contains many examples of colonial architecture in this city of more than 5.5 million.

— catharine hamm, latimes.com, "Fly round trip to Santiago, Chile, from LAX on Latam for $753," 11 May 2018
If the Wild West is the racist font of America’s myth of rugged adventure, colonial India is England’s.

— spencer kornhaber, The Atlantic, "Westworld: Ride the Tiger," 6 May 2018
Inside are grandiose portraits of mostly white men in all their colonial splendor.

— moni basu, CNN, "A royal skeptic meets Americans obsessed with Harry and Meghan," 5 May 2018
The missions stir up the melting pot of influences from the colonial settlers, nomadic Coahuiltecans and other indigenous hunter-and-gatherer groups who were integral to the early Texas settlement.

— andrea sachs, chicagotribune.com, "This summer, stop by the 23 U.S. locales that have risen to become UNESCO World Heritage sites," 4 May 2018
Cartesiano This gorgeous property is located inside an old ceramics factory in the heart of Mexico's Puebla, set between brightly painted colonial homes and storefronts.

— cnt editors, Condé Nast Traveler, "Best New Hotels in the World," 1 May 2018
The Moors were long gone from Spain when Querétaro was recognized as a Spanish imperial city, in 1680, but their influence on colonial architecture and design remained.

— sam young, Vogue, "Is Querétaro the New San Miguel de Allende?," 19 Apr. 2018
British gunmakers sold firearms all over the world: in West Africa, as part of the slave trade; in North America, to Native Americans and colonial settlers; in South Asia, as part of trade and conquest.

— priya satia, Time, "The Hidden Link Between Mass Shootings in the U.S. and the Global Economic History of the Firearms Industry," 10 Apr. 2018
The statue was intended to commemorate forced labor victims under Japanese colonial rule from 1910 – 1945.

— eli meixler, Time, "How Workers and Activists Around the World Are Celebrating May Day," 1 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'colonial.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of colonial

1768

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

colonial Synonyms

colonial

noun

Definition of colonial

1 : a member or inhabitant of a colony

2 a : a product (such as a coin or stamp) made for use in a colony

b : a product exhibiting colonial style; especially, often capitalized : a house built in the neoclassical style of the American colonial period

See colonial defined for English-language learners

Examples of colonial in a Sentence

They bought a Colonial on a quiet street.
increasing tension between colonials and the mother country

Recent Examples of colonial from the Web

Whereas in Mexico local journalists are gunned down and the perpetrators are rarely brought to justice, in Myanmar they are imprisoned and silenced by the government, which resorts to the application of colonial-era laws to do so.

— alice driver, Longreads, "No Journalist Should Have to Know How to Survive in Prison," 3 May 2018
That club is a colonial-era work-around to circumvent the society’s conservatism and is even now one of a handful of places in that huge city where one can order alcohol.

— rumaan alam, Bon Appetit, "A Story of a Young Romance, a Bowl of Bar Peanuts, and a Plastic Bottle of Whiskey," 2 May 2018
In the back door herb garden, members of the Glastonbury Garden Club will be on hand to answer your questions on the different plants and herbs grown in colonial times which are still grown today.

— Courant Community, "Community News For The Glastonbury Edition," 1 May 2018
Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo face possible charges under the Official Secrets Act, a law dating from British colonial times.

— Fox News, "Myanmar court refuses to dismiss charges against journalists," 11 Apr. 2018
Players were also banned from playing abroad, while those already at teams in former colonial master Belgium were expensively repatriated under the dictatorship of leopard skin wearing dictator President Mobutu Sese Seko.

— SI.com, "World Cup Countdown: 11 Weeks to Go - Broken Promises, a Dictator & the Tragedy of Zaire 1974," 7 Apr. 2018
Portugal, East Timor's former colonial master, never had a border with Australia.

— edith m. lederer and rob mcguirk, The Christian Science Monitor, "Australia and East Timor reach historic international agreement," 7 Mar. 2018
Jackson's commanding personal presence and military strategy not only preserved New Orleans from foreign occupation, but reasserted the nation's independence from its former colonial masters.

— mike scott, NOLA.com, "Faces of New Orleans: A collection of '300 for 300' tricentennial portraits," 2 Feb. 2018
Najib then assumed the office of prime minister, promising to revamp the economy and abolish outdated British colonial-era laws.

— Bloomberg.com, "Surviving the Game of Thrones That Is Malaysian Politics," 27 Apr. 2018

First Known Use of colonial

1798

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

colonial Synonyms

Synonyms

colonist, colonizer, frontiersman, homesteader, pioneer, settler;

Related Words

explorer, pathfinder, trailblazer;

bushranger, mountain man, woodsman;

COLONIAL Defined for English Language Learners

colonial

adjective

Definition of colonial for English Language Learners

: of or relating to a colony
: owning or made up of colonies
: of or relating to the original 13 colonies forming the United States

colonial

noun

Definition of colonial for English Language Learners

: a two-story house built in a style that was first popular in the U.S. during the American colonial period (before 1776)
: a person who is part of a colony