COLONIZE Synonyms: 8 Similar and Opposite Words

colonize

verb

ˈkä-lə-ˌnīz

Definition of colonize

as in to inhabit

to supply with inhabitants believes that someday humans will be sent to colonize Mars

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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 colonize But the past the men are recalling in their stories would have been in the ’20s or ’30s, when the British were still colonizing the region, resistance was gaining strength, and cultural mores were shifting in India and around the globe. — James Folta, Literary Hub, 23 Sep. 2026 Sauna and plunge events will keep colonizing the nightlife calendar. — Ashley Lynch, Kansas City Star, 21 Sep. 2026 The vanishing New York chronicled in the blogs of the mid-aughts has mostly vanished, NYU has colonized large swaths of downtown, and a populace struggling to afford the crushing price of housing has arisen in its wake. — David Freedlander, Curbed, 11 Sep. 2026 The Venetians came and colonized 500 years ago, and many vestiges of our Venetian past are still visible, not just in the architecture and in our food. — Shannon McMahon, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for colonize

Recent Examples of Synonyms for colonize

Verb

And in the event that someone wasn’t aware of what Children of Blood and Bone was, the panel did its job, promising an exuberant, swaggering epic with a charming cast to inhabit it.

— Joshua Rivera, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2026
The dwellings were built within Cliff Dweller Canyon and inhabited by people of the Mogollon Culture between the late 1270s and 1300.

— Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of inhabit

Verb

The area is sparsely populated with private estates set atop hills or within canyons, making firefighting access difficult.

— Tom Tapp, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2026
With a backbone laid out, the process next moved to ProteinMPNN, a tool that works along the backbone, populating it with specific amino acids.

— ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of populate

Verb

The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter Carson McCullers’ remarkable debut novel tells a story of the American South, one set in Georgia and peopled with a cast of characters that exist in a rich, layered, and challenging reality.

— Caroline Rogers, Southern Living, 22 Aug. 2026
Today, this part of the South Side seems to be almost entirely peopled by Black families.

— Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 20 June 2026

Definition of people

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colonists

colonize

colonized

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“Colonize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colonize. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of colonize

verb

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