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
Portugal and Germany in Southern Africa For much of the 19th century, Portuguese colonists in Angola and Mozambique were fewer in number and weaker in authority than those in the interior of South Africa.
—
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
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 early colonists were very much anti-idol worshippers and even modern Catholics, as Vice President Vance surely knows, have long been criticized by their Protestant counterparts for a love of statuary, reliquaries and other iconography that some have argued fall into idolatry.
—Culture Critic, Los Angeles Times, 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, 19 Mar. 2026
The Quebec Act, which protected Catholicism in neighboring Quebec, was seen by some colonists as a threat and is reflected in grievances in the Declaration of Independence.
—ABC News, 17 Mar. 2026
At that time, a warship required about 30 days to sail across the Atlantic Ocean and be in position to lob a few cannonballs at Boston or Philadelphia, possibly killing a few colonists.
—Chicago Tribune, 13 Mar. 2026
Virginia is recognized as the birthplace of American wine, since colonists attempted the craft in the early 17th century.
—Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 11 Mar. 2026
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
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
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 early colonists were very much anti-idol worshippers and even modern Catholics, as Vice President Vance surely knows, have long been criticized by their Protestant counterparts for a love of statuary, reliquaries and other iconography that some have argued fall into idolatry.
—Culture Critic, Los Angeles Times, 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, 19 Mar. 2026
The Quebec Act, which protected Catholicism in neighboring Quebec, was seen by some colonists as a threat and is reflected in grievances in the Declaration of Independence.
—ABC News, 17 Mar. 2026
At that time, a warship required about 30 days to sail across the Atlantic Ocean and be in position to lob a few cannonballs at Boston or Philadelphia, possibly killing a few colonists.
—Chicago Tribune, 13 Mar. 2026
Virginia is recognized as the birthplace of American wine, since colonists attempted the craft in the early 17th century.
—Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 11 Mar. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for colonists
Noun
-
New Mexico More than half of Route 66 cuts through sovereign Native American lands, often tracing routes used by tribes long before settlers arrived.—
Susan Montoya Bryan,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Apr. 2026
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Named for the Kiawah people who called this island home when British settlers first arrived in 1670, Kiawah Island fronts the Atlantic with ten miles of beach.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Schilling Elementary School in Newark is packed with young pioneers, willing to get their hands dirty.—
Molly McCrea,
CBS News,
3 Apr. 2026
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Time and time again, pioneers of new platforms have also bought up content and influenced conversations about those platforms.—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Colonists.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colonists. Accessed 9 Apr. 2026.
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