Synonyms of colonial

colonial 1 of 2

adjective

kə-ˈlō-nē-əl 

as in social

tending to group with others of the same kind

colonial organisms

Synonyms & Similar Words

• social
• parasitic
• associational
• dependent
• gregarious
• sociable
• consociational
• symbiotic
• subsocial
• precocial

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• solitary
• independent
• nonsocial
• autonomous
• semiautonomous
• self-contained
• self-sufficient
• semi-independent
• altricial
• reclusive
• lone
• unsociable
• self-sustaining
• self-supporting
• self-subsistent
• recluse

colonial

2 of 2

noun

as in settler

a person who settles in a new region

European colonials who built coffee plantations in East Africa

Synonyms & Similar Words

• settler
• pioneer
• colonist
• colonizer
• frontiersman
• homesteader
• explorer
• pathfinder
• mountain man
• woodsman
• bushranger
• trailblazer

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of colonial

Adjective

The episode has brought Denmark and Greenland closer together despite a fraught colonial past. — Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor, 21 Sep. 2026

This places the audience alongside the Konyaks, and subverts the traditional, colonial cinematic gaze in the vein of Filipino maestro Lav Diaz. — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 20 Sep. 2026

Noun

The move makes the country the latest to signal a shift away from a colonial past by changing its name. — ABC News, 3 Aug. 2026

That equity is not merely associated with chattel slavery, but also with African objects that were stolen during European colonial rule. — Literary Hub, 27 July 2026