COLONIAL Synonyms: 39 Similar and Opposite Words

colonial 1 of 2

adjective

kə-ˈlō-nē-əl

Definition of colonial

as in social

tending to group with others of the same kind colonial organisms

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

colonial

2 of 2

noun

as in settler

a person who settles in a new region European colonials who built coffee plantations in East Africa

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of colonial

Adjective

The Altalena had set sail from France loaded with weapons packed for the Irgun, the militant Zionist force that conducted attacks against the British colonial authorities and the local Palestinian population in the quest to establish Israel. — CBS News, 25 Aug. 2026 While most of the building is from the Spanish colonial period, portions of the foundation are made of puddled adobe, an Indigenous building technique that is believed to date back to around 1200. — Dan Fellner, AZCentral.com, 23 Aug. 2026

Noun

That equity is not merely associated with chattel slavery, but also with African objects that were stolen during European colonial rule. — Literary Hub, 27 July 2026 Burbank’s environmental determinism was tangled with a settler-colonial impulse to imbue the wild landscape with Western ideals of control and organization to not only manage but also improve populations, in both plants and humans. — The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 25 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for colonial

Recent Examples of Synonyms for colonial

Adjective

The band's social presence, while not flashy, has stayed consistent across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and its website, anchored by a pre-save link for the album and steady single rollout content.

— Olivia Shalhoup, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
Independent experts say the conflict is a symptom of a social and political debate over how to frame a national surge in measles cases, the worst seen in more than three decades.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of social

Noun

Originally the homeland of the Ohlone Indians, the Mission was taken over by Spanish settlers in the 1700s and so named after the Catholic church at its center, now known as Mission Dolores.

— Marissa J. Lang, NPR, 28 Aug. 2026
Branly Cadet will research, design, and sculpt a bronze statue of du Sable, Chicago's first permanent non-native settler.

— Adam Harrington, CBS News, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of settler

Noun

In reality, decades of land abuse and exploitation left behind a scarred terrain uniquely prepared for the arrival of kudzu as a fast-growing pioneer plant.

— The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 26 Aug. 2026
The early quantum pioneers didn’t realize — at first — that the arcane math that strikingly captured the conduct of atoms had left the real world behind.

— Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of pioneer

Noun

In his telling, the Lenape agreed to sell Dutch colonists only as much land on Manhattan as could be covered by a man’s breeches.

— Eric Lach, New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2026
What happened to the colonists remains unknown, but archaeological finds—including otherwise anachronistic English artifacts on Hatteras Island—give some support to White’s theory that at least some of the colonists relocated willingly.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of colonist

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Colonel Blimp

colonial

colonials

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“Colonial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colonial. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of colonial

adjective

noun

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