as in social
tending to group with others of the same kind
colonial organisms
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in settler
a person who settles in a new region
European colonials who built coffee plantations in East Africa
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of colonial
News Desk, Artforum, 25 Mar. 2026
Port Harcourt was founded in 1913 and governed by the military, the police, and by courts that upheld colonial law to protect British commercial interests and missionaries.
—Noo Saro-Wiwa, The Dial, 24 Mar. 2026
Amancai Biraben, Daily News, 4 Mar. 2026
The arts center is located less than a mile away from their sprawling, white Dutch clapboard colonial home on Old House Lane and sits in the old Reader’s Digest campus, which has now been redeveloped as a retail-office-residential complex.
—Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA Today, 26 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for colonial
Adjective
Conceived in 2015, Goliath’s Elegy comprises performance and video, and addresses femicide killings of trans and gay people in South Africa as well as the Herero and Nama massacre conducted by German colonial forces in the 1900s in what is now Namibia.
—News Desk, Artforum, 25 Mar. 2026
Port Harcourt was founded in 1913 and governed by the military, the police, and by courts that upheld colonial law to protect British commercial interests and missionaries.
—Noo Saro-Wiwa, The Dial, 24 Mar. 2026
Noun
Sears catalogued colonial and craftsman houses that still stand across Southern California cities including Monrovia and Placentia.
—Amancai Biraben, Daily News, 4 Mar. 2026
The arts center is located less than a mile away from their sprawling, white Dutch clapboard colonial home on Old House Lane and sits in the old Reader’s Digest campus, which has now been redeveloped as a retail-office-residential complex.
—Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA Today, 26 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for colonial
Recent Examples of Synonyms for colonial
Adjective
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Earlier thinkers, most famously Aristotle, had gone so far as to propose that eudaemonia was an inherently communal accomplishment, one that could only take root in the proper social and political context.—
Becca Rothfeld,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
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Some Brookhill attractions include Inner Peaks Climbing Center, an indoor rock-climbing facility, Puttery, an indoor mini-golf bar for adults and bars such as Pins Mechanical, a social spot with a retro arcade and other games.—
Chase Jordan
March 30,
Charlotte Observer,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Eyewitnesses said Israeli settlers set fire to homes, farming sheds and vehicles.—
Zeena Saifi,
CNN Money,
31 Mar. 2026
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While Willick was there, some settlers drove by in a white pickup and smiled—including Levi.—
Eyal Press,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Long before federal regulations existed, the couple hosted the very first meeting to form the National Organic Standards Board right there at their ranch, gathering with other pioneers like the Lundberg family to create a unified standard.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
29 Mar. 2026
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Apollo's acquisition came after Verizon Communications bought Yahoo's online operations in 2017 and then bungled an attempt to blend those services into AOL, another internet pioneer.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The aiyi have sent an emissary to Scythia, who will determine whether the colonists deserve to survive.—
Stephanie Burt,
New Yorker,
1 Apr. 2026
-
The colonists awoke from their dream of lucrative plantations to find churches in ashes and molasses cauldrons rusting in the grass.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Colonial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colonial. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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