as in populated
to supply with inhabitants
believes that someday humans will be sent to colonize Mars
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Recent Examples of colonized
For instance, the island of the Cyclopes could be modern Sicily, which was colonized by the Greeks in the 8th century bce, or Crete.
—
Gitanjali Roy, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Apr. 2026
Viewed from certain perspectives—the perspective of history, the perspective of the roughly one quarter of the world that was once colonized by Britain—London is a metropolis built on crime.
—Mark O’Connell, The New York Review of Books, 25 Apr. 2026
From the moment the Dutch colonized the area in the 17th century, disposing of trash has vexed New York City leaders, recognized as heroes when the city somehow gets clean and villainized when the trash piles soar.
—Tim Craig The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 5 Apr. 2026
The family lives on the Caribbean island of Martinique, which was colonized first by the Spanish and then the French in 1635.
—Madeleine Janz, PEOPLE, 1 Apr. 2026
Two years ago, students occupied buildings and colonized the quad.
—Rose Horowitch, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026
Life only became complex, differentiated, and colonized the continental land on Earth a few hundred million years ago.
—Big Think, 17 Feb. 2026
The buildings that housed a prideful labor force are vandalized, colonized by squatters or boarded up.
—Mery Mogollón, Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2026
Ethiopia, the only African nation not colonized in the early 20th century, became a powerful symbol of Black freedom and influenced much of the visual symbolism seen today, according to Blavity (via Yahoo).
—Alex Perry, Cincinnati Enquirer, 12 Feb. 2026
Gitanjali Roy, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Apr. 2026
Viewed from certain perspectives—the perspective of history, the perspective of the roughly one quarter of the world that was once colonized by Britain—London is a metropolis built on crime.
—Mark O’Connell, The New York Review of Books, 25 Apr. 2026
From the moment the Dutch colonized the area in the 17th century, disposing of trash has vexed New York City leaders, recognized as heroes when the city somehow gets clean and villainized when the trash piles soar.
—Tim Craig The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 5 Apr. 2026
The family lives on the Caribbean island of Martinique, which was colonized first by the Spanish and then the French in 1635.
—Madeleine Janz, PEOPLE, 1 Apr. 2026
Two years ago, students occupied buildings and colonized the quad.
—Rose Horowitch, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026
Life only became complex, differentiated, and colonized the continental land on Earth a few hundred million years ago.
—Big Think, 17 Feb. 2026
The buildings that housed a prideful labor force are vandalized, colonized by squatters or boarded up.
—Mery Mogollón, Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2026
Ethiopia, the only African nation not colonized in the early 20th century, became a powerful symbol of Black freedom and influenced much of the visual symbolism seen today, according to Blavity (via Yahoo).
—Alex Perry, Cincinnati Enquirer, 12 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for colonized
Verb
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Huron was largely a farming town populated by immigrants whose lives and culture influenced his work.—
Jean E. Palmieri,
Footwear News,
4 May 2026
-
Going back to the Top 10 favorites of 2025, the rest of the list was almost entirely populated by movies.—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
4 May 2026
Verb
-
The trend took off in early April, with users on social media posting videos of themselves — sometimes inexplicably in costume — entering multiple properties owned or inhabited in some way by the Church of Scientology.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
30 Apr. 2026
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Archeological evidence shows that the land may have been inhabited by the native Wappo people as early as 2000 BC.—
Rachel Cormack,
Robb Report,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Colonized.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colonized. Accessed 5 May. 2026.
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