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
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
Jackie BischofThe 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
Kanishk TharoorExamples of decolonization in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Antisemitism is renovated with concepts such as equity, decolonization and liberation, despite promoting the same traditional antisemitic tropes.
—Arie Perliger, The Conversation, 18 Mar. 2026
Art history frequently uses lenses like decolonization to expand its scope, yet these perspectives often turn into restrictive systems of categorization.
—Anel Rakhimzhanova, Artforum, 1 Mar. 2026
As decolonization transformed fading colonial empires into a hundred new nations, rival superpowers dispatched covert operatives, latter-day men on the spot, to win over those emerging states by any means necessary.
—Alfred McCoy, Literary Hub, 26 Feb. 2026
Seeing the whole project laid out and discovering just how much African decolonization movements in the ’60s and beyond brought to the fore African filmmakers and filmmakers around the diaspora who were really stepping behind the camera for the first time and telling their stories.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 11 Feb. 2026
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Arie Perliger, The Conversation, 18 Mar. 2026
Art history frequently uses lenses like decolonization to expand its scope, yet these perspectives often turn into restrictive systems of categorization.
—Anel Rakhimzhanova, Artforum, 1 Mar. 2026
As decolonization transformed fading colonial empires into a hundred new nations, rival superpowers dispatched covert operatives, latter-day men on the spot, to win over those emerging states by any means necessary.
—Alfred McCoy, Literary Hub, 26 Feb. 2026
Seeing the whole project laid out and discovering just how much African decolonization movements in the ’60s and beyond brought to the fore African filmmakers and filmmakers around the diaspora who were really stepping behind the camera for the first time and telling their stories.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 11 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for decolonization
Cite this Entry
“Decolonization.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/decolonization. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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