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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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 In Africa, English is an official language in many countries that were colonized by Great Britain and even in some that were not. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 Sep. 2026 Like many places in former colonial territories, Hempstead’s name refers back to the homeland of those who colonized and settled in the region. — Ashley Gardini, JSTOR Daily, 9 Sep. 2026 Companies that have been hoping to colonize the cosmos are not addressing the potential environmental and atmospheric impacts of that expansion. — Devika Rao, TheWeek, 8 Sep. 2026 The film depicts the world’s richest man as petty, narcissistic, megalomaniacal, cruel, detached from humans at a personal level (including various ex-partners and many of his children) while purporting to want to save humanity by colonizing Mars. — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 8 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for colonize

Recent Examples of Synonyms for colonize

Verb

The story focuses on a novelist who moves into a building, strangely inhabited only by woman – 13 of them.

— Annika Pham, Variety, 25 Sep. 2026
How a spouse chooses to inhabit a highly visible but largely undefined role is visually articulated through their fashion.

— Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of inhabit

Verb

To create a feed, just type a description and let YouTube populate the page.

— Ryan Whitwam, ArsTechnica, 23 Sep. 2026
This is how things roll in a tiny German village populated by the surviving wives and children of soldiers who are already dead or about to die on the battlefield.

— Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 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

Browse Nearby Words

colonists

colonize

colonized

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Colonize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colonize. Accessed 29 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of colonize

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

argot

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes