colonialism

American  

[kuh-loh-nee-uh-liz-uhm] / kəˈloʊ ni əˌlɪz əm /

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.

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colonialism British  

/ kəˈləʊnɪəˌlɪzəm /

noun

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

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colonialism Cultural  

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.)

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Discover More

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

Etymology

Origin of colonialism

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

Example Sentences

Widely considered East Africa’s leading novelist and one of the continent’s most articulate social critics, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o examined the enduring traumatic effects of colonialism on both individuals and the national psyche.

From The Wall Street Journal

Through the animal’s point of view, De Los Santos Arias considers the enduring grip of colonialism and the consequences of human irrationality.

From Los Angeles Times

It proposes to address hierarchical orders, social rank, slavery, colonialism, expropriation and the interweaving of mind and body, matter and spirit.

From The Wall Street Journal

Frye said this was a legacy of colonialism and apartheid.

From Barron's

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

From The Wall Street Journal