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🗺️ To give independence 📚 To remove colonial ideas
to decolonize

to decolonize

1 7.5
To give independence to a country or region that another country controls
  • verb
  • /ˌdiːˈkɒlənaɪz/
translation icon : descolonizar
  • At the age of thirty-nine, he was made ambassador to one of the newly decolonized nations.

Examples

  • The tragedy of the Congo crisis was that the UN leadership, personified by both Cordier and Hammarskjold, was so preoccupied with global East-West concerns that it remained blind to the import of its actions on the struggle to decolonize and democratize Africa.

    Academic text (1992)

  • It is obvious by now that the US is not going to decolonize PR just because the UN asks.

    Blog text (7)

  • And he thought, OK, right, the British and the French are decolonizing in Africa.

  • All of Southern Africa had been decolonized, and the majority were in power, leaving South Africa in a very awkward position.

    Academic text (2018)

  • Palestine must be decolonized for peace.

    Blog text (24)

  • I invite you to join the non-violent protest to demand that the United States (US) decolonize Puerto Rico (PR) immediately.

    Blog text (7)

  • To decolonize one's viewing is to acknowledge Hollywood's on-screen subjugation of and off-screen damage to Indigenous Peoples.

    Academic text (2008)

  • We need to insist on Native American self-sufficiency, our heritage of cultural resistance, and advocacy for a role in international Third-World decolonizing struggles, including recognizing and unifying with our indigenous sisters and brothers.

    Academic text (2008)

  • Many African nations fought hard to decolonize from European powers in the 20th century.

  • After years of conflict, the country finally achieved its goal to decolonize and establish independence.

Synonyms

to liberate
vsto decolonize
104 4.3

Set someone free from prison or unfair control

grants national independence rather than simply removing control or oppression
to emancipate
vsto decolonize
  • Formal
23 7.0

To set someone free from unfair control or rules so they have equal rights

grants formal national independence to a former colony rather than individual rights

Antonyms

to colonize
46 6.3

To take control of an area and settle it with people from another country

How Independent

to decolonize
1 7.5
to colonize
46 6.3

Surface Forms

decolonize infinitive
decolonized past
decolonized past participle
decolonizing present participle
decolonizes third person singular

Morphology

decolonize = colonize (transparent) = de + colony + ize

The meaning is a straightforward reversal or removal of the action in 'colonize'.

Etymology

Decolonize comes from the parts de- meaning 'remove' and colony meaning 'a country or region controlled by another country'. So, to decolonize a country or region is to remove foreign rule and give power back to local people.