postcolonial
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of postcolonial
Explanation
Postcolonial describes the time period after Western nations left the nations they colonized and ruled. After the end of British rule, Jawaharlal Nehru became India's first postcolonial leader. The adjective postcolonial can refer to the specific era following the end of a colonial regime, when a powerful empire that's taken over other lands withdraws from them. It's also used for the project of investigating how people and land have been affected by the colonizer, even years later — there are whole genres of postcolonial literature and art, for instance. Post means "after," and colonial comes from the Latin colonia, "settled land."
Vocabulary lists containing postcolonial
post
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post-
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post (after)
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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.
Sociology is in many ways the mother of all social sciences, she who hath birthed dozens of disciplines ranging from criminology to postcolonial studies to ethnic studies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
Taiwanese author Yang Shuang-zi and translator Lin King won the International Booker Prize on Tuesday for "Taiwan Travelogue", a playful postcolonial novel with a culinary bent.
From Barron's ● May 19, 2026
A key figure in postcolonial feminist literature, her work explores themes around gender and immigration.
From BBC ● Jan. 8, 2026
By training, Sara is a historian of postcolonial Africa, and her career has been spent as a digital archivist at the Getty Museum.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2025
“I major in queer postcolonial astrology,” one of the performers says.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 10, 2023
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.
