colonial

1 of 2

adjective

co·​lo·​nial kə-ˈlō-nē-əl 

-nyəl

1

a

: of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony

colonial trade

colonial life

a colonial capital

The Haitian Revolution, led by self-liberated enslaved people against the French colonial government, was an early precursor to the abolition movements of the United States.

—Chadd Scott

: having the status of a colony

colonial territories

b

: possessing or composed of colonies

Britain's colonial empire

… when the United States became a colonial power, assuming control of Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Hawaii …

—Peter S. Canellos

2

or less commonly Colonial : of or relating to a period when an area is being colonized and especially to the period of European colonization in U.S. history between the early 17th century and the late 18th century

in colonial times

: such as

a

: made or prevailing during a colonial period

a town known for its Dutch/French/Spanish colonial architecture

colonial furniture

b

: adapted from or reminiscent of a mode of design from a colonial period

new homes built in the colonial style

3

: forming, existing in, or used by a colony

Though it may look like a tropical plant or colorful rock, coral is a colonial carnivore …

—Mark Derr

colonialize

kə-ˈlō-nē-ə-ˌlīz 

-nyə-ˌlīz

transitive verb

colonially adverb

colonialness noun

colonial

2 of 2

noun

plural colonials

1

: a member or inhabitant of a colony

British colonials in India

a rebellion of the colonials

2

a

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

b

or Colonial : a product exhibiting colonial style

especially : a house built in the neoclassical style of the American colonial period

LaMontagne said the homes will be two-story Colonials with attached garages and about three to four bedrooms.

—Mark Hayward

Synonyms

Adjective

• gregarious
• sociable
• social

Noun

• colonist
• colonizer
• frontiersman
• homesteader
• pioneer
• settler

Examples of colonial in a Sentence

Adjective

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.

Noun

They bought a Colonial on a quiet street.

increasing tension between colonials and the mother country

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Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Our parents, who came to the United States separately from Guangzhou, China, in the late 1960s and early 1970s by way of Hong Kong, spoke mostly the Chinese dialects Cantonese and Taishanese to us, but also possessed fluent English from their education in colonial Hong Kong. —Kat Chow, The Atlantic, 25 Sep. 2023

Established in 1952, Christiansted National Historic Site spans seven acres and comprises multiple historic buildings, including customs and government structures from the colonial area. —Carley Rojas Avila, Travel + Leisure, 22 Sep. 2023

Recommended The attempts at restitution come when Europeans have faced calls for more accountability for colonial injustice. —Melanie Stetson Freeman, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Sep. 2023

This model — the import of expensive goods and the export of cheap resources — characterized the colonial system. —Patricia Cohen, New York Times, 18 Sep. 2023

The evolving political landscape has exposed the vulnerability of the systems of governance that were originally established by colonial powers. —Stephanie Busari, CNN, 1 Sep. 2023

These efforts also include renaming roads and buildings related to both India’s Mughal as well as its colonial past. —Manveena Suri, CNN, 6 Sep. 2023

Since its independence from British colonial rule in 1947, India has been bedeviled by many separatist insurgencies. —Sushant Singh, Foreign Affairs, 4 Sep. 2023

The free museum is named for the old western gate of the Seoul Fortress Wall, which stood nearby until the Japanese colonial government demolished it in 1915. —Jesse Ashlock, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Aug. 2023

Noun

As Australia reckons with its violent colonial past, there are growing efforts to keep jobs and profits in Indigenous hands. —Michael E. Miller, Washington Post, 15 Sep. 2023

Protesters took this critique into the streets by toppling, decapitating, or defacing dozens of statues honoring colonial and pro-slavery figures; cities, proactively, took down others. —Christopher Hawthorne, The New Yorker, 12 Sep. 2023

Soccer was introduced to Vietnam in 1896 during the French colonial period. —Jeré Longman Linh Pham, New York Times, 16 July 2023

Kishida reciprocated with a visit to Seoul in May and expressed sympathy for the suffering of Korean forced laborers during Japan's colonial rule. —Compiled By Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 19 Aug. 2023

Kishida reciprocated with a visit to Seoul in May and expressed sympathy for the suffering of Korean forced laborers during Japan’s colonial rule, The effort to sustain the trilateral relationship won’t be without challenges. —Aamer Madhani and Darlene Superville, Chicago Tribune, 18 Aug. 2023

Of the 28 homes sold last year in the neighborhood, the lowest-priced was a $695,000 three-bedroom, two-bathroom rambler with a modest 1,652 square feet; the highest-priced was a $1.7 million four-bedroom, 4.5-bathroom new-construction colonial on 3,443 square feet. —Hope Hodge Seck, Washington Post, 28 June 2023

Inspiration for the renovation came from an effort to bring a more modern, European take to a classic colonial home. —Jessica Cherner, House Beautiful, 26 June 2023

Its popularity — the book has won prestigious prizes and sold nearly 90,000 copies — has come as a surprise in a country that has often preferred to forget its colonial past rather than address it. —Constant Méheut, New York Times, 28 Aug. 2023

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Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1764, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1797, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing colonial

• anti-colonial
• inter-colonial
• pre-colonial

• anti-colonial
• inter-colonial
• pre-colonial

Kids Definition

colonial

1 of 2 adjective

co·​lo·​nial kə-ˈlō-nē-əl 

-nyəl

1

: of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony

2

often capitalized : of or relating to the original 13 colonies forming the U.S.

3

: forming or existing in a colony

colonial organisms

4

: possessing or composed of colonies

a colonial empire

colonial

2 of 2 noun

: colonist sense 1