as in settlers
a person who settles in a new region
over time the colonists began to sense that they were becoming a people unto themselves
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Recent Examples of colonists
This practice outraged the American colonists, who believed that general warrants enabled tyranny by empowering officers to enter homes and businesses at will.
—
Amanda Cats-Baril, Twin Cities, 4 Mar. 2026
The Hopis and Zunis were part of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, where Spanish colonists and priests were driven out of the pueblos of New Mexico and northeastern Arizona.
—Debra Utacia Krol, AZCentral.com, 27 Feb. 2026
Decades before the Declaration of Independence, colonists organized boycotts and public demonstrations opposing British rule.
—Karl W. Bickel, Baltimore Sun, 24 Feb. 2026
His outrageous attacks on the citizens of Minnesota are as egregious as anything the British Redcoats did to provoke American colonists into revolution, that started with the Battle of Lexington (painting).
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 20 Feb. 2026
Though panned by critics and ignored by the public, the movie shows the struggles of a boy born on Mars to one of the first colonists.
—Big Think, 19 Feb. 2026
The American colonists’ decision to frame their rebellion as a quarrel with a man rather than a system was brilliant from a public-relations standpoint, if not exactly honest.
—The Atlantic, 17 Feb. 2026
The colonists were subject to arbitrary taxation, warrantless searches, standing armies in their homes, and other evils at the hands of the crown.
—Agustina Vergara Cid, Oc Register, 15 Feb. 2026
And farther off, toward the mountains, the Cimarronaje—the settlements of the Black Seminoles and Mascogos who, on escaping slavery, became colonists of a territory that asked for their protection in exchange for ownership.
—Literary Hub, 6 Feb. 2026
Amanda Cats-Baril, Twin Cities, 4 Mar. 2026
The Hopis and Zunis were part of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, where Spanish colonists and priests were driven out of the pueblos of New Mexico and northeastern Arizona.
—Debra Utacia Krol, AZCentral.com, 27 Feb. 2026
Decades before the Declaration of Independence, colonists organized boycotts and public demonstrations opposing British rule.
—Karl W. Bickel, Baltimore Sun, 24 Feb. 2026
His outrageous attacks on the citizens of Minnesota are as egregious as anything the British Redcoats did to provoke American colonists into revolution, that started with the Battle of Lexington (painting).
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 20 Feb. 2026
Though panned by critics and ignored by the public, the movie shows the struggles of a boy born on Mars to one of the first colonists.
—Big Think, 19 Feb. 2026
The American colonists’ decision to frame their rebellion as a quarrel with a man rather than a system was brilliant from a public-relations standpoint, if not exactly honest.
—The Atlantic, 17 Feb. 2026
The colonists were subject to arbitrary taxation, warrantless searches, standing armies in their homes, and other evils at the hands of the crown.
—Agustina Vergara Cid, Oc Register, 15 Feb. 2026
And farther off, toward the mountains, the Cimarronaje—the settlements of the Black Seminoles and Mascogos who, on escaping slavery, became colonists of a territory that asked for their protection in exchange for ownership.
—Literary Hub, 6 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for colonists
Noun
-
Saw Wee Kee, Waa Kee Sha and their surrounding areas have long been more than just recreation sites, and have rich histories extending back well before the earliest American settlers first arrived, the release said.—
Aurora Beacon-News,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Mar. 2026
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Early Spanish settlers called this fish grunion, which means grunter.—
Laylan Connelly,
Oc Register,
4 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The two pioneers are simply on the wrong side of Miami Beach, the side that few outsiders associate with the neon glitz and glamour of Hotel Row.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
27 Feb. 2026
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Brain rot is one reason some AI pioneers now question whether large language models will achieve human-level intelligence.—
R. Alexander Bentley,
The Conversation,
26 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Colonists.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colonists. Accessed 5 Mar. 2026.
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