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

Derived Forms

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

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

Same-sex relationships have been banned in Ghana under laws dating from the British colonial era.

From BBC • May 30, 2026

The two Black Cubans, self-taught artists from the crumbling and densely populated colonial heart of Havana, are the face of an art movement that inspired the largest peaceful protests in the regime’s history.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026

It survived colonial rule, a bloodied partition, the tumult of independence and Delhi's transformation into a sprawling megacity.

From BBC • May 25, 2026

Pacific island Nauru said it will hold a referendum to change its official name, described as a colonial relic from a time when "foreign tongues" mangled the native language.

From Barron's • May 13, 2026

Behind him, house after gorgeous colonial house passed in rapid-fire succession, their colors winking at us through her window.

From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken