Decolonization

//diːˌkɒl.ə.naɪˈzeɪ.ʃən// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The freeing of a colony etc from dependent status by granting it independence. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    the action of changing from colonial to independent status wordnet
  3. 3
    The reverse of colonization, i.e. granting back autonomy to a group. countable, uncountable

    "In full decolonization mode, Greenlanders also have abandoned the Danish names that once gave some of us a precarious toehold on their island's geography. Nuuk, for example, appeared on children's geography board games until recently as Godthab."

  4. 4
    The elimination of a colony of pathogens from the body of a patient, especially antibiotic-resistant pathogens. countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms
decolonializationdecolonisation

Example

More examples

"In Palestine, we should talk about decolonization and not peace."

Etymology

From de- + colonization.

More for "decolonization"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.