colonial

[ kuh-loh-nee-uhl ]

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) Architecture, Furniture.
   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.

noun

1. an inhabitant of a colony.
2. a house in or imitative of the Colonial style.

colonial

/ 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

noun

1. a native of a colony

Derived Forms

• coˈlonially, adverb

Other Words From

• co·loni·al·ly adverb
• nonco·loni·al adjective noun
• nonco·loni·al·ly adverb
• proco·loni·al adjective noun
• semi·co·loni·al adjective
• semi·co·loni·al·ly adverb
• unco·loni·al adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of colonial¹

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

Example Sentences

When the disease-related deaths of millions of Indigenous people in the Americas led to labor shortages that jeopardized the colonial project, Spaniards imported nearly 200,000 people from West Africa to all parts of the colony.

From Washington Post

Efforts by the British Empire to conduct a smallpox vaccination program in India made less progress, due in large part to mistrust by the locals of the colonial government.

From Vox

Sometimes they protected colonial interests in the West Indies with governors of Caribbean islands paying them to attack Spanish treasure ships.

From Washington Post

Indigenous geographer Deondre Smiles, a postdoctoral scholar at Ohio State, recently warned about the dangers of bringing a colonial mentality to exploring space in an article in the journal Society & Space.

From Ozy

Railways in Nigeria dates back to the 19th century when the first railroad was constructed in 1898 under British colonial rule before the modern country was created in 1914.

From Quartz

During the colonial period the Punjabi Muslims formed the prized martial class for the British Raj.

From The Daily Beast

There were men dressed in colonial garb complete with knee-breeches and powdered wigs.

From The Daily Beast

Madison knew directly how colonial-era Anglicans had persecuted Baptists.

From The Daily Beast

In the eloquent words of colonial preacher John Winthrop, “When a man is to wade through deep water, there is required tallness.”

From The Daily Beast

That makes Israel one of the longest-standing colonial powers in modern history.

From The Daily Beast

As Spain, however, has fallen from the high place she once held, her colonial system has also gone down.

From Project Gutenberg

Colonial charters were, however, "undoubtedly no more than those of all corporations, which empower them to make bye-laws."

From Project Gutenberg

On May 13, in a speech which charmed the House, Mr. Townshend opened his plan for settling the colonial question.

From Project Gutenberg

Then it was agreed all men must be made to do so, and the colonial legislature was called upon to make them.

From Project Gutenberg

As usual in Portuguese colonial towns, the church and convent are very conspicuous.

From Project Gutenberg