postcolonial

American  

[pohst-kuh-loh-nee-uhl] / ˌpoʊst kəˈloʊ ni əl /

adjective

1. of or relating to the period following a state of colonialism.

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Etymology

Origin of postcolonial

First recorded in 1930–35; post- + colonial

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."

Example Sentences

Nkanu Nnamdi died at a hospital in Nigeria on Wednesday following a short illness, leaving the family of the acclaimed postcolonial feminist writer "devastated".

From BBC • Jan. 10, 2026

Ireland, one of the first postcolonial states, also profited from the new empires of American finance and European regulation.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 7, 2025

Zero, Santi’s new friend and life guru played by Lilli Kay, is a self-described “genderqueer, anticapitalist, postcolonial feminist,” and the series manages to have fun with her without making fun of her.

From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2025

“I major in queer postcolonial astrology,” one of the performers says.

From Washington Times • Nov. 10, 2023

To challenge that French postcolonial imperium built by cunning, corruption and covert skullduggery, Moscow needed an operative who could match Jacques Foccart’s legendary mastery of the dirty business of empire, measure for measure.

From Salon • Oct. 22, 2023