anti-colonial

adjective

an·​ti-co·​lo·​nial ˌan-tē-kə-ˈlō-nē-əl How to pronounce anti-colonial (audio)
-nyəl, 
ˌan-tī- How to pronounce anti-colonial (audio)
variants or less commonly anticolonial
: opposed to colonial rule of one country by another : opposing or resisting colonialism
anti-colonial movements
anti-colonialism
ˌan-tē-kə-ˈlō-nē-ə-ˌli-zəm, 
-nyə-ˌli-, 
ˌan-tī- How to pronounce anti-colonial (audio)
adjective
or less commonly anticolonialism
supporters of anti-colonialism

Examples of anti-colonial in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Russia was pitched as an ally in this anti-colonial struggle. — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 10 May 2026 Thousands of their men fought and died in Central America and in the anti-colonial wars in Africa. — Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 23 Mar. 2026 Despite his strong anti-colonial stance, Mamdani certainly seemed to charm the King during their meeting. — Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 29 Apr. 2026 But at the time, many others in Latin America saw the Bolsheviks as part of a global anti-colonial wave. — Tony Wood, The Conversation, 17 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for anti-colonial

Word History

First Known Use

1810, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of anti-colonial was in 1810

Rhymes for anti-colonial

See All Rhymes for anti-colonial

Browse Nearby Words

anti-collision
anti-colonial
anti-colonialist
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Anti-colonial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anti-colonial. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All