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 Wills
Examples of postcolonial in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Coups in Africa were rampant in the early postcolonial decades, with coup leaders offering similar reasons for toppling governments: corruption, mismanagement and poverty, according to political analyst Remi Adekoya.
—Jessie Yeung, CNN, 31 Aug. 2023
Since 2017 however, government efforts to go further and share decision-making with Māori in other areas of public life have fueled a febrile national debate about how to guarantee Indigenous rights without undermining democracy, echoing tensions in other postcolonial societies.
—Saphora Smith, NBC News, 27 Aug. 2023
But in recent years, a growing number of influential states from the postcolonial world have embraced this approach.
—Matias Spektor, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2023
As a postcolonial state, it is quite practiced at resisting, ignoring, or mitigating external interference.
—Daniel Markey, Foreign Affairs, 16 June 2023
For the better part of the twentieth century, postcolonial countries challenged the West on a number of issues, pushing for decolonization, racial equality, and economic justice.
—Matias Spektor, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2023
Charles is also now head of the Commonwealth, a postcolonial group of 54 independent countries comprising 2.4 billion people.
—Alexander Smith, NBC News, 8 Sep. 2022
If the people in the county with the best economic prospects are the ones who spend all day discussing Judith Butler and postcolonial theory, and not the ones who work 10-hour shifts at the tire shop, that’s going to make the latter group pretty pissed off.
—Jake Bittle, The New Republic, 19 Oct. 2022
Over the course of the 20th century, as former colonies across Asia and Africa fought for their independence from an Empire that had long subjugated them as part of an institutionalized racist hierarchy, the Commonwealth expanded and included this postcolonial network of nations.
—Suyin Haynes, Time, 10 Mar. 2021
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Jessie Yeung, CNN, 31 Aug. 2023
Since 2017 however, government efforts to go further and share decision-making with Māori in other areas of public life have fueled a febrile national debate about how to guarantee Indigenous rights without undermining democracy, echoing tensions in other postcolonial societies.
—Saphora Smith, NBC News, 27 Aug. 2023
But in recent years, a growing number of influential states from the postcolonial world have embraced this approach.
—Matias Spektor, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2023
As a postcolonial state, it is quite practiced at resisting, ignoring, or mitigating external interference.
—Daniel Markey, Foreign Affairs, 16 June 2023
For the better part of the twentieth century, postcolonial countries challenged the West on a number of issues, pushing for decolonization, racial equality, and economic justice.
—Matias Spektor, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2023
Charles is also now head of the Commonwealth, a postcolonial group of 54 independent countries comprising 2.4 billion people.
—Alexander Smith, NBC News, 8 Sep. 2022
If the people in the county with the best economic prospects are the ones who spend all day discussing Judith Butler and postcolonial theory, and not the ones who work 10-hour shifts at the tire shop, that’s going to make the latter group pretty pissed off.
—Jake Bittle, The New Republic, 19 Oct. 2022
Over the course of the 20th century, as former colonies across Asia and Africa fought for their independence from an Empire that had long subjugated them as part of an institutionalized racist hierarchy, the Commonwealth expanded and included this postcolonial network of nations.
—Suyin Haynes, Time, 10 Mar. 2021
See More
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.
Word History
First Known Use
1883, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near postcolonial
Cite this Entry
“Postcolonial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/postcolonial. Accessed 28 Sep. 2023.
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