colonial

American  

[kuh-loh-nee-uhl] / kəˈloʊ ni əl /

adjective

1. of, concerning, or pertaining to a colony or colonies.

   the colonial policies of France.

2. of, concerning, or pertaining to colonialism; colonialistic.

3. (often initial capital letter) pertaining to the 13 British colonies that became the United States of America, or to their period.

4. Ecology. forming a colony.

5. (initial capital letter)

   1. noting or pertaining to the styles of architecture, ornament, and furnishings of the British colonies in America in the 17th and 18th centuries, mainly adapted to local materials and demands from prevailing English styles.

   2. noting or pertaining to various imitations of the work of American colonial artisans.

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noun

1. an inhabitant of a colony.

2. a house in or imitative of the Colonial style.

colonial British  

/ kəˈləʊnɪəl /

adjective

1. of, characteristic of, relating to, possessing, or inhabiting a colony or colonies

2. (often capital) characteristic of or relating to the 13 British colonies that became the United States of America (1776)

3. (often capital) of or relating to the colonies of the British Empire

4. denoting, relating to, or having the style of Neoclassical architecture used in the British colonies in America in the 17th and 18th centuries

5. of or relating to the period of Australian history before Federation (1901)

6. (of organisms such as corals and bryozoans) existing as a colony of polyps

7. (of animals and plants) having become established in a community in a new environment

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noun

1. a native of a colony

Other Word Forms

• colonially
  adverb
• noncolonial
  adjective
• noncolonially
  adverb
• procolonial
  adjective
• semicolonial
  adjective
• semicolonially
  adverb
• uncolonial
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of colonial

An Americanism dating back to 1770–80; colony + -al ¹

Explanation

The colonial period of United States history occurred before 1776, when America was still 13 colonies under British rule. You can use the word colonial to describe an inhabitant of a colony ruled by another country, but you wouldn’t call a painter living in an artists' colony a colonial. On the other hand, ants, which live in ant colonies, are colonial insects. British colonial is a style of furniture the British favored for their houses and tents in India or on safari in Africa — when India and parts of Africa were British colonies.

Example Sentences

When butcher Asser Levy died in Colonial New York, he had gone from penniless immigrant to successful businessperson by meeting the booming city’s food needs.

From MarketWatch • May 6, 2026

On a brisk December morning in Colonial Williamsburg, a man dressed as Thomas Jefferson swept past historic homes towards a crowd of eager onlookers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

The two-story pool house’s red tile roof, wooden trellises and Spanish Colonial Revival features will look roughly the same on the outside, Kingsnorth said, and the rehabilitation will comply with federal standards for historic structures.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2026

The can of Colonial Beef Dripping was taken on the 1953 journey by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay who were the first confirmed to reach the summit of the world's tallest mountain.

From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026

Colonial leaders had to assemble their own armies.

From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz