Meanings
plural decolonizations · alternative decolonisation
- countableuncountableThe freeing of a colony etc from dependent status by granting it independence.
- countableuncountablehuman sciencesThe reverse of colonization, i.e. granting back autonomy to a group.
But what does decolonisation have to do with place names? Place names are the meeting points of history and geography that shape part of our identities.
2019, Nalini Mohabir, “Renaming the Cook Islands would be a vital step towards true independence”, in Guardian.1 more example
In full decolonization mode, Greenlanders also have abandoned the Danish names that once gave some of us a precarious toehold on their island's geography. Nuuk, for example, appeared on children's geography board games until recently as Godthab.
2001 May 20, James Brooke, “Where Icebergs Are Born”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 11 Jun 2017Synonyms: decolonialization
- countableuncountablemedicineThe elimination of a colony of pathogens from the body of a patient, especially antibiotic-resistant pathogens.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe reverse of colonization, i.e. granting back autonomy to a group.
More synonyms by meaning
nounthe action of changing from colonial to independent status
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*de
- Proto-Indo-European*déh₁
- Proto-Italic*dē
- Latindē
- Latindē-
- Englishde-
- Proto-Indo-European*kʷelh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*kʷélh₁eti
- Proto-Italic*kʷelō
- Latincolō
- Latincolōnus
- Latincolōnia
- Middle Englishcolane
- Englishcolony
- Englishcolonize
- Englishcolonization
- Englishdecolonization
From de- + colonization.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans dekolonisering
- dekoloniseringfreeing of a colony from dependent status
Arabic إنهاء الاستعمار
- إنهاء الاستعمار (ʔinhāʔ al-istiʕmār)freeing of a colony from dependent status
Catalan descolonització
- descolonitzaciófreeing of a colony from dependent status
Chinese Mandarin 去殖民化
- 去殖民化 (qùzhímínhuà)freeing of a colony from dependent status
Dutch dekolonisatie
- dekolonisatiefreeing of a colony from dependent status
Finnish siirtomaan itsenäistyminen, siirtomaavallan purkautuminen
- siirtomaan itsenäistyminenfreeing of a colony from dependent status
- siirtomaavallan purkautuminenfreeing of a colony from dependent status
- dekolonisaatiofreeing of a colony from dependent status
French décolonisation
- décolonisationfreeing of a colony from dependent status
German Entkolonialisierung, Dekolonisation
- Entkolonialisierungfreeing of a colony from dependent status
- Dekolonisationfreeing of a colony from dependent status
Greek αποαποικιοποίηση
- αποαποικιοποίηση (apoapoikiopoíisi)freeing of a colony from dependent status
Hebrew דה־קולוניזציה
- דה־קולוניזציה (de-kolonizátsiya)freeing of a colony from dependent status
Hungarian dekolonizáció
- dekolonizációfreeing of a colony from dependent status
Icelandic afnýlenduvæðing
- afnýlenduvæðingfreeing of a colony from dependent status
Italian decolonizzazione
- decolonizzazionefreeing of a colony from dependent status
Japanese 脱植民地化
- 脱植民地化 (datsushokuminchika)freeing of a colony from dependent status
Korean 탈식민지화
- 탈식민지화 (talsingminjihwa)freeing of a colony from dependent status
Malay penyahjajahan
- penyahjajahanfreeing of a colony from dependent status
Polish dekolonizacja
- dekolonizacjafreeing of a colony from dependent status
Portuguese descolonização
- descolonizaçãofreeing of a colony from dependent status
Romanian decolonizare
- decolonizarefreeing of a colony from dependent status
Russian деколониза́ция
- деколониза́ция (dekolonizácija)freeing of a colony from dependent status
Spanish descolonización
- descolonizaciónfreeing of a colony from dependent status
Turkish dekolonizasyon
- dekolonizasyonfreeing of a colony from dependent status
Ukrainian деколоніза́ція
- деколоніза́ція (dekolonizácija)freeing of a colony from dependent status
Vietnamese phi thực dân hoá
- phi thực dân hoáfreeing of a colony from dependent status
Cite this entry
decolonization. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decolonization
“decolonization.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decolonization. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “decolonization,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decolonization.
Source: decolonization on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.