postcolonial
adjective
post·co·lo·nial
ˌpōst-kə-ˈlō-nē-əl 
-nyəl
: of, relating to, or being a time after colonialism
postcolonial America
Carter was the first American president to take seriously the entire postcolonial era that has remade the globe since World War II.—
Garry Wills
Garry WillsExamples of postcolonial in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
That is true within E.U. countries, partly the result of migration and partly encouraged by education policies, as well as the vast store of intersecting languages in postcolonial countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and elsewhere.
—Rosemary Salomone, TIME, 7 Apr. 2024
The biggest recent development in Nigerien politics, a 2023 military coup that upended its democracy—and drove out the French postcolonial presence—happened after the album was completed.
—Andy Cush, Pitchfork, 4 Mar. 2024
The fall of Saigon in 1975, the descent of Cambodia into the hell of Pol Pot’s communist dictatorship, the Cuban-Soviet intervention in Angola’s postcolonial conflict—these and other geopolitical setbacks seemed to vindicate their claim.
—Niall Ferguson, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024
The concept emerged out of postcolonial studies, which arose in the 1960s and ’70s as a way of understanding colonialism from the point of view of the formerly colonized across the world.
—Jennifer Schuessler, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2024
The concept of postcolonial studies has only been present since the early 2000s in France, nearly three decades after its emergence in Anglophone universities.
—Colette Davidson, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 Oct. 2023
In Africa, postcolonial nations have not forgotten the depredations of Europe’s colonial past, and in a succession of coups in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and the Sahel expelled European military forces and even some European ambassadors.
—Michael Kimmage and Hanna Notte, Foreign Affairs, 12 Oct. 2023
The stuff of epics, spy stories and postcolonial tragedies.
—Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times, 28 Dec. 2023
Instead of cleaving to ideology and anticolonial solidarity, these countries have embraced a certain postcolonial realism and a desire to adapt to unfolding geopolitical realities.
—Happymon Jacob, Foreign Affairs, 25 Dec. 2023
Rosemary Salomone, TIME, 7 Apr. 2024
The biggest recent development in Nigerien politics, a 2023 military coup that upended its democracy—and drove out the French postcolonial presence—happened after the album was completed.
—Andy Cush, Pitchfork, 4 Mar. 2024
The fall of Saigon in 1975, the descent of Cambodia into the hell of Pol Pot’s communist dictatorship, the Cuban-Soviet intervention in Angola’s postcolonial conflict—these and other geopolitical setbacks seemed to vindicate their claim.
—Niall Ferguson, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024
The concept emerged out of postcolonial studies, which arose in the 1960s and ’70s as a way of understanding colonialism from the point of view of the formerly colonized across the world.
—Jennifer Schuessler, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2024
The concept of postcolonial studies has only been present since the early 2000s in France, nearly three decades after its emergence in Anglophone universities.
—Colette Davidson, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 Oct. 2023
In Africa, postcolonial nations have not forgotten the depredations of Europe’s colonial past, and in a succession of coups in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and the Sahel expelled European military forces and even some European ambassadors.
—Michael Kimmage and Hanna Notte, Foreign Affairs, 12 Oct. 2023
The stuff of epics, spy stories and postcolonial tragedies.
—Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times, 28 Dec. 2023
Instead of cleaving to ideology and anticolonial solidarity, these countries have embraced a certain postcolonial realism and a desire to adapt to unfolding geopolitical realities.
—Happymon Jacob, Foreign Affairs, 25 Dec. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'postcolonial.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Postcolonial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/postcolonial. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
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