Ceylon
Britishnoun
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the former name (until 1972) of Sri Lanka
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an island in the Indian Ocean, off the SE coast of India: consists politically of the republic of Sri Lanka. Area: 64 644 sq km (24 959 sq miles)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The song offers “nostalgia with a tinge of hope,” explains Ceylon Andi Hickman, a 30-year-old England supporter in London.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
"We hope to achieve a 15 to 20 percent reduction in fuel consumption with the latest increase," an official at the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation said.
From Barron's ● Mar. 22, 2026
George Maxwell Alagiah was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka - then called Ceylon - on 22 November 1955, before his family moved to Ghana in the wake of ethnic unrest.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2023
The disease swept through parts of India, the Philippines and Ceylon, the area now known as Sri Lanka, leaving "Arabica graveyards" in its wake.
From Salon ● Nov. 28, 2022
“To Ceylon and to the world’s first woman prime minister!”
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
