What does decolonizing mean?
Decolonizing means freeing a colony or inhabited territory from colonial rule and, more broadly, undoing the political, institutional, and cultural legacies of colonialism. The word is the present participle of decolonize and may describe either an active process or an approach based on reversing colonial relationships. In historical contexts, it refers to territories becoming independent or ceasing to be governed as colonies. In contemporary academic, educational, and cultural criticism, its meaning has broadened: decolonizing can describe efforts to address unequal representation, challenge established disciplinary canons, or remove practices regarded as perpetuating colonial power. The term is therefore both historical and reformist in orientation. It is especially associated with efforts by formerly colonized peoples and Indigenous communities to reclaim authority over knowledge, representation, and institutional resources, although decolonization also concerns the structures and assumptions through which colonial power continues to operate indirectly.
verb (present participle and gerund)Bringing a colony or territory out of colonial rule or, more broadly, undoing systems, assumptions, and practices perpetuated by colonialism. The word also functions adjectivally when describing an active process of decolonization.
- The process of removing a territory or people from colonial rule.
- In modern social, educational, and cultural criticism, the process of dismantling institutions, methods, or assumptions regarded as perpetuating colonial power.
"The exhibition uses Indigenous scholarship to decolonize the museum's collection."
"The exhibition uses Indigenous scholarship to decolonize the museum's collection."
"Professors increasingly advocate decolonizing inherited disciplinary canons."
The mass decolonization of the mid-20th century transformed borders across Asia and Africa, but many institutions are still decolonizing their collections and curricula.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does decolonizing come from?
English decolonize was formed from the prefix de-, the noun colony, and the suffix -ize. Its development accompanied the broader modern use of decolonization in the 20th century, when decolonize initially referred primarily to the removal of colonial status. Its institutional and cultural meanings developed later as the term was applied to dismantling structures and ideas associated with colonial power. Colony ultimately comes from Latin colonia, meaning a farm or settlement, the same root found in colonial, colonist, and colonialism.
Related word forms
How decolonizing is actually used
The term is common in political, historical, educational, and cultural criticism. In its extended modern sense, it can refer not only to political independence but also to dismantling institutions, narratives, and methods shaped by colonial power. Its use often carries a critical, reformist connotation, particularly in academic discourse.
Easily confused with decolonizing
Colonizing means establishing control over a territory and treating it as a colony, whereas decolonizing means reversing or undoing that colonial relationship.