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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Up front is a colonial-looking bar with high ceilings and chandeliers, then out back there’s the kind of tropical courtyard that NOLA does best, all leafy greenery and convivial seclusion. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 Oct. 2026 Paul Robeson’s films from the 1930s are sometimes problematic and can pander to colonial ideas about Black people. — Zac Ntim, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2026

Noun

The two of them live on-site in what looks like a family home straight out of a 1990s Disney film, a white colonial home with blue shutters. — Emma Madden, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026 Ideally located at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac in the Taskers Pond neighborhood, a handsome colonial has just come on the market. — James Alexander, Hartford Courant, 9 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for colonial

Recent Examples of Synonyms for colonial

Adjective

Living standards stay stagnant and social unrest keeps rising.

— Masood Ahmed, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2026
The car-free social bike ride is accessible and open to all levels of cyclists ages 3 and over.

— Tom Ignudo, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of social

Noun

Marschall’s initial assessment was that the tree’s life probably began before European settlers arrived in the region, at a time when the mountain was populated by autonomous Indigenous nations that later became part of the Creek Confederacy.

— M. R. O’Connor, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
Meanwhile over 100 Palestinian communities have been displaced or erased by the settler violence and the ever-encroaching sheep.

— Lesley Stahl, CBS News, 11 Oct. 2026

Definition of settler

Noun

The book covers an enormous chunk of British screen history (1896 to 2001), with each chapter uncovering and illuminating the careers of early Black screen pioneers.

— Zac Ntim, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2026
Jeddah’s Athr Gallery is debuting with Mosly and a second pioneer of Saudi modernism, Abdulrahman Alsulaiman.

— Manal Albarakati, semafor.com, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of pioneer

Noun

The animals reached Spain during the Roman Empire and were later brought to what is now Mexico by Spanish colonists in the 1500s.

— Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026
Till then, although the frontier had been placed under imperial control, land-hungry colonists and companies kept pushing across it.

— J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of colonist

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Colonel Blimp

colonial

colonials

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Style

“Colonial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colonial. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of colonial

adjective

noun

Example Sentences

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