postcolonialism

P3O1S1T1C3O1L1O1N1I1A1L1I1S1M3

noun

An era or attitude relating to the period after the settlement of one country by another, or very broadly, after the 1960s, when many colonised countries gained their independence.

UncommonScrabble 21

Meanings

nounpostcolonialism (countable and uncountable, plural postcolonialisms)

plural postcolonialisms · alternative post-colonialism

  1. countableuncountableAn era or attitude relating to the period after the settlement of one country by another, or very broadly, after the 1960s, when many colonised countries gained their independence.
  2. countableuncountableAn academic discipline that attempts to analyse, explain, and respond to the cultural legacies of colonialism and imperialism.

    As a literary theory, postcolonialism examines literature produced both by authors in colonial countries and by colonized peoples responding to colonial legacies by ‘writing back’, or challenging colonial cultural attitudes through literature.

    2009, Cheryl McEwan, Postcolonialism and Development, Routledge, →ISBN, page 23
    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

    Synonyms: postcolonial studies

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAn academic discipline that attempts to analyse, explain, and respond to the cultural legacies of colonialism and imperialism.

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. Englishcolonialism
  19. Englishpostcolonialism

From post- + colonialism.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 後殖民主義 /后殖民主义, 後殖民主義 /后殖民主义
  • 後殖民主義 /后殖民主义 (hòuzhímínzhǔyì)era or attitude
  • 後殖民主義 /后殖民主义 (hòuzhímínzhǔyì)discipline
Finnish postkolonialismi, jälkikolonialismi
  • postkolonialismiera or attitude
  • jälkikolonialismiera or attitude
  • jälkikolonialismin tutkimusdiscipline
French études postcoloniales
  • études postcolonialesdiscipline
German Postkolonialismus
  • Postkolonialismusera or attitude
Hindi उत्तर उपनिवेशवाद
  • उत्तर उपनिवेशवाद (uttar upniveśvād)era or attitude
Vietnamese chủ nghĩa hậu thực dân
  • chủ nghĩa hậu thực dândiscipline
Cite this entry
APA

postcolonialism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/postcolonialism

MLA

“postcolonialism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/postcolonialism. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “postcolonialism,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/postcolonialism.

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