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

See Examples For:

postcolonial

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

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

They quoted postcolonial theorist Frantz Fanon, Black liberation activist Marcus Garvey, the late poet Benjamin Zephaniah, and comedian Romesh Ranganathan, who has frequently joked that his mum calls him a coconut for not speaking Tamil.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2024

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

From Washington Times ● Nov. 10, 2023