postcolonial

P3O1S1T1C3O1L1O1N1I1A1L1

adjective

Following the end of colonial rule.

“a postcolonial theory of esthetics”

Less commonScrabble 16

Meanings

adjectivepostcolonial (not comparable)

alternative post-colonial

  1. not comparableFollowing the end of colonial rule.

    In the postcolonial period, democracy alternated with military rule.

    2 more examples

    The post-1990s retreat of manufacturing industry in many postcolonial cities across the world and the demands of first world capitalism paved the way to financial and service industries, such that the postcolonial city begins to function as a “node of an inter-metropolitan and global network carrying out information processing and control functions.”

    2011, Rashmi Varma, The Postcolonial City and its Subjects: London, Nairobi, Bombay, Routledge, →ISBN

    The new postcolonial government in Khartoum immediately declared that its national borders matched the tweaked boundaries stipulated in the second proclamation, making the Hala’ib triangle Sudanese.

    2016 March 3, Jack Shenker, “Welcome to the land that no country wants”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 06 Apr 2020
  2. not comparablehuman sciencesOf or pertaining to postcolonialism.

    a postcolonial theory of esthetics

    1 more example

    There can be no doubt that Derrida's contribution to postcolonialism is not as clearly politicized as that of Fanon, Sartre or Gandhi, but it is nevertheless crucial in its careful consideration of the contrasting ethics and politics that might inform postcolonial thought.

    2014, Jane Hiddleston, Understanding Postcolonialism, Routledge, →ISBN, page 112
nounpostcolonial (plural postcolonials)

plural postcolonials · alternative post-colonial

  1. A person living in a postcolonial society.

Synonyms & antonyms

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*pós
  2. Proto-Indo-European*pósti
  3. Proto-Italic*posti
  4. Old Latinposte
  5. Latinpost
  6. Englishpost-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*kʷelh₁-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*kʷélh₁eti
  9. Proto-Italic*kʷelō
  10. Latincolō
  11. Latincolōnus
  12. Latincolōnia
  13. Middle Englishcolane
  14. Englishcolony
  15. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  16. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  17. Englishcolonial
  18. Englishpostcolonial

From post- + colonial.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Esperanto postkolonia
  • postkoloniafollowing the end of colonial rule
French postcolonial
  • postcolonialof or pertaining to postcolonialism
German postkolonial
  • postkolonialfollowing the end of colonial rule
Hindi उत्तर औपनिवेशिक, उत्तर औपनिवेशिक
  • उत्तर औपनिवेशिक (uttar aupniveśik)following the end of colonial rule
  • उत्तर औपनिवेशिक (uttar aupniveśik)of or pertaining to postcolonialism
Indonesian pascakolonial, pascakolonial
  • pascakolonialfollowing the end of colonial rule
  • pascakolonialof or pertaining to postcolonialism
Italian postcoloniale
  • postcolonialefollowing the end of colonial rule
Polish postkolonialny
  • postkolonialnyof or pertaining to postcolonialism
Romanian postcolonial
  • postcolonialfollowing the end of colonial rule
Swedish postkolonial
  • postkolonialfollowing the end of colonial rule
Cite this entry
APA

postcolonial. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/postcolonial

MLA

“postcolonial.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/postcolonial. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “postcolonial,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/postcolonial.

Source: postcolonial on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.