colonial
adjective
co·lo·nial
| \ kə-ˈlō-nē-əl
, -nyəl\
, -nyəl\
Definition of colonial
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony
a
: made or prevailing in America during the colonial period
colonial architecture
b
: adapted from or reminiscent of an American colonial mode of design
colonial furniture
3
: forming or existing in a colony
colonial organisms
4
: possessing or composed of colonies
a colonial empire
colonial
nounDefinition of colonial (Entry 2 of 2)
1
: a member or inhabitant of a colony
2a
: a product (such as a coin or stamp) made for use in a colony
b
: a product exhibiting colonial style
especially,
often capitalized
: a house built in the neoclassical style of the American colonial period
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Other Words from colonial
Adjective
colonialize
\ kə-ˈlō-nē-ə-ˌlīz
, -nyə-ˌlīz \
transitive verb
, -nyə-ˌlīz \
transitive verb
colonially
adverb
colonialness
noun
Synonyms & Antonyms for colonial
Synonyms: Adjective
Synonyms: Noun
colonist, colonizer, frontiersman, homesteader, pioneer, settler
Antonyms: Adjective
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Examples of colonial in a Sentence
Adjective
The country was a colonial power. a colonial nation and its colonial empire The book describes life in Colonial America. an example of colonial architecture The port had been very important in colonial times.Noun
They bought a Colonial on a quiet street. increasing tension between colonials and the mother country
Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
Many South Koreans feel, quite rightly, that Japan has not sufficiently acknowledged, let alone properly atoned for, all the horrors of its colonial rule over the Korean peninsula. — The Economist, "South Korea and Japan are taking their historical feud too far," 31 Aug. 2019 His aesthetic is a cross between Victorian Gothic and colonial explorer, as if Edgar Allan Poe wrote the screenplay for Indiana Jones. — Oscar Schwartz, WIRED, "There’s a Thriving Market for Human Body Parts on Instagram," 21 Aug. 2019 Much of this suspicion dates to the colonial period, when the underground party orchestrated a campaign of rioting and bombings in 1967. — Andrew Higgins, New York Times, "From the Shadows, China’s Communist Party Mobilizes Against Hong Kong Protests," 20 Aug. 2019 Most often it was pushed to the forefront of politics during invasion, immigration or colonial occupation. — Vikram Sampath, Quartz India, "The father of Hindutva believed Aryans migrated to India," 20 Aug. 2019 Their plan was to organize a colonial militia that could rise up against the Nazis and take back control of the mainland. — James Mcauley, Town & Country, "The Haunting of Paris: Georges Mandel and the Long Legacy of Nazi Violence," 6 Aug. 2019 In the grand colonial period, tableware, menus, etiquette and equipment were dominated by the langue françoise from Madagascar to Moscow. — Jim Kempton, Orange County Register, "Follow the French: A look at the French influence on cuisine around the world," 2 Aug. 2019 This British-colonial era fort is built on a hill overlooking the harbor with a panoramic view of the Leeward side of the island. — Anquanette Gaspard, Essence, "Get Lost: 72 Hours in St. Vincent," 29 July 2019 History of the Adventures of Vivi and Vera Dung Kai-Cheung, translation by Yau Wai-ping The novel chronicles life in Hong Kong during the final decades of British colonial rule. — Amanda Shendruk, Quartzy, "Here’s what every Chinese book recently translated for the US is about," 27 July 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
After generations of ignoring Aboriginal appeals, the country is now a world leader in returning human remains as a form of apology for its tragic colonial history. — David Maurice Smith, Smithsonian, "A 42,000-Year-Old Man Finally Goes Home," 23 Aug. 2019 The tragedy is that colonial history makes scant mention of what scholars believe are thousands of slave shipwrecks embedded along international coastlines. — Chris Searles, National Geographic, "Most slave shipwrecks have been overlooked—until now," 23 Aug. 2019 Meeting houses not only served as houses of worship in colonial America, but were integral in community building and were gathering places for civic affairs. — Maysoon Khan, BostonGlobe.com, "Rare weathervane finds new perch in Newburyport," 1 Aug. 2019 The rift, with its roots in colonial history and wartime animosity, has brought trade sanctions from Japan. — The Economist, "South Korea and Russia face off in the skies," 25 July 2019 The kia’i, many but not all Hawaiian, explain that the response to this controversy extends far back into Hawaii’s colonial history. — Trisha Kehaulani Watson-sproat, Vox, "Why Native Hawaiians are fighting to protect Maunakea from a telescope," 24 July 2019 In the first analysis of its kind by a former colonial power, Spain’s Ministry of Culture has identified 681 shipwrecks in the Caribbean and along the southern Atlantic coast of the United States. — Amy Crawford, Smithsonian, "Why Spain Is Seeking to Catalog All of Its Historic Shipwrecks," 23 Aug. 2019 Yes, the same type of colonial era laws that activists in Kenya and Botswana are trying to squash. — David Mckenzie, CNN, "Progress for gay rights in Africa still isn't inevitable," 10 Aug. 2019 For Kenyans, what’s concerning is that while some former colonial powers are starting to consider and act upon restitution demands, Britain is not. — Max Bearak, Washington Post, "Kenya’s Pokomo people ask the British to return what was stolen: Their source of power," 9 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'colonial.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for colonial
colonial
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of colonial
(Entry 1 of 2)
: of or relating to a colony
: owning or made up of colonies
: of or relating to the original 13 colonies forming the United States
colonial
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of colonial (Entry 2 of 2)
: a two-story house built in a style that was first popular in the U.S. during the American colonial period (before 1776)
: a person who is part of a colony
See the full definition for colonial in the English Language Learners Dictionary