noun · academic
colonialism
UK/kəˈləʊniəlɪzəm/US/kəˈloʊniəlɪzəm/co·LO·ni·al·ism
A system or policy where one country dominates others politically, economically and culturally over a long period.
Examples
“The legacy of colonialism still affects many countries' education systems.”
“Debates about colonialism often focus on language loss and economic exploitation.”
“Museums are re-evaluating how they display artefacts taken during colonialism.”
Band 8 sentence
“When writing about modern borders, it's important to acknowledge how colonialism reshaped political maps and cultural identities over centuries.”
Collocations
- the legacy of colonialism
- resist colonialism
- end colonialism
- effects of colonialism
Word family
Common mistakes
the colonialism→colonialism
many colonialisms→many instances of colonialism / many colonial practices
Say it for a higher band
5colony→6colonization→7+colonialism
Synonyms
imperialism
Easily confused
imperialism
“Some historians treat colonialism and imperialism as overlapping phenomena, but they highlight different mechanisms of control.”
colonization
“The colonization of the island happened quickly, but the effects of colonialism lasted for generations.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In -ism
Learn it with its set