decolonization

noun

de·​col·​o·​ni·​za·​tion (ˌ)dē-ˌkä-lə-nə-ˈzā-shən 

: the act or practice of decolonizing

[Frantz] Fanon also described mental decolonization, the shedding of the colonizer's values and practices …

—Jackie Byars

[Ngũgĩ wa] Thiong'o is a passionate advocate for African authors writing in their native tongue as a form of preserving culture and achieving linguistic decolonization. "Language, any language, has a dual character: it is both a means of communication and a carrier of culture," he has written.

—Jackie Bischof

The 20th century may be defined in the West by the World Wars and the Cold War, but for much of the rest of the planet it was the age of decolonization, when old structures of (often racial) domination and power gave way to new states, new nations, and new politics.

—Kanishk Tharoor

Examples of decolonization in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The decolonization of the British Empire throughout the nineteen-fifties and sixties brought particular attention to Ian Fleming’s famous debonair spy, James Bond. —The New Yorker, 12 June 2024

The twentieth century abounds with examples of failures to uphold the equal dignity of all: the violence used against those advocating for decolonization, the Vietnam War, the genocides in Cambodia and Rwanda, the wars that followed the breakup of Yugoslavia, and many more. —Agnès Callamard, Foreign Affairs, 15 Feb. 2024

The narrative of decolonization, national liberation, and Israel as imperialist aggressor is well represented in course curricula. —Daniel Foster, National Review, 30 Nov. 2023

Being takes the form of a teacher helming decolonization workshops that combine poetry, dance, storytelling, critical pedagogy, and meditation. —Okla Jones, Essence, 23 Jan. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1836, in the meaning defined above