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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 In the past, thousands of the indigenous Great Andamanese people living in the region died after contact with British colonizers led to an epidemic of measles and syphilis. Omkar Khandekar, NPR, 7 June 2026 Norway was itself a colonizer, and programs oppressing indigenous cultures and languages were in place well into the 1960s. Ola Morris Innset, The Dial, 2 June 2026 The language first reached the continent in the early twentieth century and gained popularity during the postcolonial era as a politically neutral replacement for the still-persistent languages of European colonizers. Katie Thornton, Harpers Magazine, 26 May 2026 Stressing the omnipresent influence of the Portuguese colonizers, chorizo cooks with red kidney beans and black-eyed peas in a spunky chile-vinegar tomato sauce in a Goan adaptation of Brazilian feijoada. Scott Hocker, TheWeek, 11 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for colonizer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for colonizer
Noun
  • But that friendship was betrayed as settlers dried up the Gila with upstream dams and diversions.
    Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 3 July 2026
  • Some people, including descendents of long-ago English, Welsh and Scotch-Irish settlers, now identify themselves simply as American.
    Albert Sun, New York Times, 2 July 2026
Noun
  • As a kid, Grant was an Eagle scout, and essentially built a historical trail after discovering pioneer grave sites.
    Sam McDowell July 1, Kansas City Star, 1 July 2026
  • The pioneer of the world’s largest Bitcoin asset treasury attended the president’s first crypto summit at the White House in March 2025.
    Camila Grigera Naón, Fortune, 1 July 2026
Noun
  • And the war that was fought in the backcountry would serve as a catalyst for the Revolutionary War when the British king decided to help pay down war debt by taxing the colonists.
    Salena Zito, Washington Post, 1 July 2026
  • English colonists from Barbados and Bermuda settled in the region during that time, bringing with them enslaved Africans with their own abundant culinary heritage.
    Amethyst Ganaway, Bon Appetit Magazine, 1 July 2026
Noun
  • Burbank’s environmental determinism was tangled with a settler-colonial impulse to imbue the wild landscape with Western ideals of control and organization to not only manage but also improve populations, in both plants and humans.
    The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 25 June 2026
  • Then this private driveway passes fruit trees, a vineyard, and mature plantings, before finally reaching the impressive colonial that is at the heart of this nearly four-acre country estate at 46 Andrews Road in Wolcott.
    James Alexander, Hartford Courant, 21 June 2026

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“Colonizer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colonizer. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.

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