precolonial
adjective
pre·co·lo·nial
ˌprē-kə-ˈlō-nē-əl 
-nyəl
variants
or pre-colonial
: existing or occurring before an area undergoes colonization
precolonial America
precolonial cultures
Examples of precolonial in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Worryingly, Rwandan President Paul Kagame claimed in a 2023 speech that the precolonial borders of the Kingdom of Rwanda extended much farther than the country’s current frontiers, spilling over into modern-day Uganda to the north, Burundi to the south, and Congo to the west.
—
Michela Wrong, Foreign Affairs, 3 Mar. 2025
In the precolonial Igbo states of West Africa, power was often wielded by male chiefs or elders, but women had their own forms of authority as well.
—The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 3 Mar. 2025
Inspired by the prophet Muhammad’s migration from Mecca to Medina, the system was originally designed as a means of broadening Islamic education in precolonial Nigeria.
—Ogar Monday, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Feb. 2025
The United Kingdom, for example, signed treaties with precolonial Indian states from Sindh to Nagpur to Punjab that many Indian leaders viewed as a recognition of statehood.
—Tanisha M. Fazal, Foreign Affairs, 6 Apr. 2022
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Michela Wrong, Foreign Affairs, 3 Mar. 2025
In the precolonial Igbo states of West Africa, power was often wielded by male chiefs or elders, but women had their own forms of authority as well.
—The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 3 Mar. 2025
Inspired by the prophet Muhammad’s migration from Mecca to Medina, the system was originally designed as a means of broadening Islamic education in precolonial Nigeria.
—Ogar Monday, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Feb. 2025
The United Kingdom, for example, signed treaties with precolonial Indian states from Sindh to Nagpur to Punjab that many Indian leaders viewed as a recognition of statehood.
—Tanisha M. Fazal, Foreign Affairs, 6 Apr. 2022
See All Example Sentences for precolonial
Cite this Entry
“Precolonial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/precolonial. Accessed 14 Mar. 2025.
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