colonial Hear it!

colonial definition

co·lo·nial (kə lō′nē əl)

adjective

  1. of or living in a colony or colonies
  2. of the thirteen British colonies that became the U.S., or characteristic of the styles of their period
  3. made up of or having colonies

noun

an inhabitant of a colony

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

colonial Synonyms

colonial

modif.

  1. Concerning a colony

    pioneer, isolated, dependent, planted, transplanted, settled, provincial, frontier, imperial, imperialist, pre-Revolutionary, Pilgrim, emigrant, immigrant, territorial, outland, pioneering, daughter, mandated, early American, overseas, protectoral, Puritan, dominion, Anglo-Indian, subject; see also distant 2, remote 1.

  2. Having qualities suggestive of colonial life

    pioneer, hard, raw, crude, harsh, wild, unsettled, limited, uncultured, new, unsophisticated; see also primitive 3, severe 2.

    Antonyms old, cultured*, decadent.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

colonial Usage Examples

Adjective modifier

  • British: The Foreign Office announced they are ready to evacuate 20,000 British colonials from Zimbabwe.
  • French: On 8th April 1945, the French colonial Army entered the town.

Modifies a noun

  • empire: Already Sir Walter Raleigh had sent settlers to America, opening the way for a great colonial empire.

Used with adjective complement

  • become: It was highly successful and within a generation the production of rum became colonial New England's largest and most prosperous industry.

Noun used with modifier

  • post: This was a period of great political activity in the Caribbean as the countries begun their post colonial journey.

Modifying Another Word

  • not: It's not colonial or occupying power; it's fully integrated with its place and its peoples.
colonial usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

colonial quotes

The military struggle may frankly be regarded for what it actually was, namely a war for independence, an armed attempt to impose the views of the revolutionists on the British government and large sections of the colonial populationat whatevercosttofreedomofopinionor the sanctity of life and property.

-Schlesinger, Arthur Meier

But we live like our names and you would have to be colonial to know the difference, to know the pain of history words contain.

-Walcott, Derek Alton

colonial quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"colonial." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/colonial>

APA Style

colonial. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/colonial

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