Thesaurus results for COLONIZER

colonizer

noun

ˈkä-lə-ˌnī-zər

Definition of colonizer

as in settler

a person who settles in a new region the first colonizers of Easter Island must have faced untold challenges

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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 colonizer The Guarani, which now number roughly 85,000 in Brazil, were among the Indigenous peoples first encountered by Portuguese colonizers in the 1500s. — Marina Dias, Washington Post, 2 Sep. 2026 Built in 1610 by Spanish and Indigenous laborers, the church was destroyed in the 1680 Pueblo Revolt that drove Spanish colonizers out of the region for 12 years. — Dan Fellner, AZCentral.com, 23 Aug. 2026 Smallpox began decimating Indigenous populations shortly after European colonizers arrived in the Americas during the late 15th century. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 30 July 2026 It's made even more complicated by the fact that after the war, Japan left and the Republic of China came and very quickly adopted the former colonizer's methods of ruling people. — Jan Camenzind Broomby, NPR, 29 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for colonizer

Recent Examples of Synonyms for colonizer

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

Noun

Directed by Yohane Dean Lengol and Hamed Mobasser, Rumba Royale is set in 1959 Leopoldville, the former capital of Belgian Congo (which is now called Kinshasa), in the final months of Belgian colonial rule.

— Diana Lodderhose, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2026
The look is eclectic colonial with timber ceilings, mahogany antiques, chintz armchairs, and clawfoot baths.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of colonial

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colonized

colonizer

colonizers

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

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Synonyms of colonizer

noun

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