colonialism

[kuh-loh-nee-uh-liz-uhm]

noun

1. the control or governing influence of a nation over a dependent country, territory, or people.

2. the system or policy by which a nation maintains or advocates control or influence over a dependent country, territory, or people.

3. the state or condition of being colonial.

4. an idea, custom, or practice peculiar to a colony.

colonialism

/ kəˈləʊnɪəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. Also called: imperialism. the policy and practice of a power in extending control over weaker peoples or areas

colonialism

1. The control of one nation by “transplanted” people of another nation — often a geographically distant nation that has a different culture and dominant racial or ethnic group. (See ethnicity.)

Control that is economic and cultural, rather than political, is often called neocolonialism.

A classic example of colonialism is the control of India by Britain from the eighteenth century to 1947.

Other Word Forms

• colonialist noun
• colonialistic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of colonialism¹

First recorded in 1850–55; colonial ( def. ) + -ism ( def. )

Example Sentences

They accused this tiny little country, Israel, of all the Western evils: apartheid, genocide, colonialism, racism.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Influential Western intellectuals saw colonialism as “a means to development.”

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"And collective action for sustainability that centres the development to address the impact of colonialism of the African continent."

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Prof Mamdani is known for his anti-colonialist scholarship, which examines the legacy of colonialism in Africa and its impact on governance, identity and justice.

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"Give me an Iraqi soldier and a Russian weapon, and we will liberate the world from Western colonialism," he declared in one post.

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