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
Sparingly interspersed among the island narrative are flashbacks to another island, colonized long ago.
—
Ben Travers, IndieWire, 4 May 2026
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
Ben Travers, IndieWire, 4 May 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for colonized
Verb
-
Most of its riders live outside New York City in two counties populated by nearly three million people.—
Philip Marcelo,
Los Angeles Times,
18 May 2026
-
For a cop in a usually sleepy town populated mostly by the elderly, Sung-ae is a remarkably quick study.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
17 May 2026
Verb
-
During the Early Cretaceous, Nagatitan inhabited an arid-to-semiarid landscape defined by a meandering river system teeming with fish, crocodiles, and freshwater sharks.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
14 May 2026
-
This signals to birds that the wreath is already inhabited.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Colonized.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colonized. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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