as in to inhabit
to supply with inhabitants
believes that someday humans will be sent to colonize Mars
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Recent Examples of colonize
SpaceX is developing Starship to help humanity colonize the moon and Mars, finish deploying its Starlink megaconstellation in Earth orbit and do pretty much everything else the company wants to do in the final frontier.
—
Mike Wall, Space.com, 22 May 2026
Education, from preschool to college, is being colonized by for-profit owners.
—Chris Murphy, The Atlantic, 20 May 2026
Here’s a swashbuckling Zen space opera of irresistible vastness — a world large enough to colonize your imagination.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 19 May 2026
These are not throwaway virtues in 2026, when the world is increasingly colonized by soulless vertical drama templates and is emptied of literacies, as seen when college students struggle to make any sense of the first seven paragraphs of a Dickens novel.
—Ritesh Mehta, IndieWire, 17 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for colonize
Mike Wall, Space.com, 22 May 2026
Education, from preschool to college, is being colonized by for-profit owners.
—Chris Murphy, The Atlantic, 20 May 2026
Here’s a swashbuckling Zen space opera of irresistible vastness — a world large enough to colonize your imagination.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 19 May 2026
These are not throwaway virtues in 2026, when the world is increasingly colonized by soulless vertical drama templates and is emptied of literacies, as seen when college students struggle to make any sense of the first seven paragraphs of a Dickens novel.
—Ritesh Mehta, IndieWire, 17 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for colonize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for colonize
Verb
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As previously reported, Silo is set in a self-sustaining underground city inhabited by a community whose recorded history dates back only 140 years.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
2 June 2026
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It was filmed on our streets, in our bars, and featured many of the men who inhabited the late 1970s gay world.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
2 June 2026
Verb
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The town itself is still populated, but the accuracy and penetration of the Russian drones mean Ukrainian troops cannot blend into civilian life.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
30 May 2026
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Our district is one of the most diverse and densely populated in the city, with a higher proportion of working class and immigrant families who are disproportionately impacted by rising costs and economic instability.—
Mercury News Editorial Board,
Mercury News,
29 May 2026
Verb
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Ishaq has made a film peopled with women and boys who go beyond simple archetypes, setting joyful female solidarity against omnipresent conflict in a way designed to communicate with a broad demographic.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
22 May 2026
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Hypocrisy, not rail spindles or dog poop, is top of the play’s agenda, and to poke around that subject the playwright has peopled his work with a collection of character types.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
21 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Colonize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colonize. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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