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
In the centuries since colonists waged war against the crown, American’s attitudes toward the royals have shifted from hatred to adoration.
—
Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 29 Apr. 2026
The Courant has reported, most colonists were not exactly mesmerized by the notion of severing ties with the mother country.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 27 Apr. 2026
But within three years, the site was found abandoned and its colonists dead — earning the name Port Famine.
—Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 27 Apr. 2026
Today, Americans might be even more sharply divided about religion than the colonists of 1776.
—Thomas Tweed, The Conversation, 24 Apr. 2026
Paul Revere and other messengers on that night gave the colonists a chance to resist the British troops at the battles of Lexington and Concord.
—William Lambers, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 Apr. 2026
The 1774 Articles of Association, which urged colonists to boycott British goods.
—Linh Tat, Daily News, 13 Apr. 2026
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 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
Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 29 Apr. 2026
The Courant has reported, most colonists were not exactly mesmerized by the notion of severing ties with the mother country.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 27 Apr. 2026
But within three years, the site was found abandoned and its colonists dead — earning the name Port Famine.
—Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 27 Apr. 2026
Today, Americans might be even more sharply divided about religion than the colonists of 1776.
—Thomas Tweed, The Conversation, 24 Apr. 2026
Paul Revere and other messengers on that night gave the colonists a chance to resist the British troops at the battles of Lexington and Concord.
—William Lambers, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 Apr. 2026
The 1774 Articles of Association, which urged colonists to boycott British goods.
—Linh Tat, Daily News, 13 Apr. 2026
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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for colonists
Noun
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Local history is also reflected in the design, with a Navy pilot (representing the former Naval Air Station Glenview); a member of the Kennicott family, the early settlers of The Grove; the Glenview Farmer’s Market; and a child riding in the 4th of July bike parade featured.—
Jennifer Johnson,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Apr. 2026
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Attacks by extremist settlers on Palestinians in the West Bank have surged since the brutal Hamas attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, with.—
Laura Paddison,
CNN Money,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Commissioners McSlavkin and Ella Cross both questioned a historical mural in the tunnel, which includes controversial pioneers John Sutter and Peter Burnett, during the meeting.—
Graham Womack,
Sacbee.com,
25 Apr. 2026
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The musician was born in Los Angeles and was a third-generation creative; his grandparents Boris and Bessie Thomashefsky were pioneers of Yiddish theater, while his dad Ted Thomas was a producer at the Mercury Theater Company in New York.—
Rachel DeSantis,
PEOPLE,
23 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Colonists.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colonists. Accessed 30 Apr. 2026.
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