as in settler
a person who settles in a new region
the first colonizers of Easter Island must have faced untold challenges
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Recent Examples of colonizer
But Oakland Indigenous chef Crystal Wahpepah, owner of Wahpepah’s Kitchen, is finding her way back to the recipes that were lost as the North American continent was carved up by European colonizers.
—
Chase Hunter, Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2026
In the Seventies, he was mocked as a Vegas has-been in a jumpsuit; in the Eighties, as a cultural colonizer.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 19 Feb. 2026
The show traces Hawaii's history, from the arrival of the first Polynesian settlers to the missionary colonizers publicly banning hula, culminating with the cultural practice once again being celebrated in the islands.
—Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 15 Jan. 2026
Over the ensuing decades, periodic conflicts pitted Indigenous peoples of various pueblos against the colonizers.
—Peter C. Mancall, The Conversation, 9 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for colonizer
Chase Hunter, Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2026
In the Seventies, he was mocked as a Vegas has-been in a jumpsuit; in the Eighties, as a cultural colonizer.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 19 Feb. 2026
The show traces Hawaii's history, from the arrival of the first Polynesian settlers to the missionary colonizers publicly banning hula, culminating with the cultural practice once again being celebrated in the islands.
—Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 15 Jan. 2026
Over the ensuing decades, periodic conflicts pitted Indigenous peoples of various pueblos against the colonizers.
—Peter C. Mancall, The Conversation, 9 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for colonizer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for colonizer
Noun
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But Union troops in Colorado were also responsible for forcing Indigenous people from their homes as white settlers moved into the state.—
Christa Swanson,
CBS News,
24 Mar. 2026
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Bakri is more brittle in Farah Nabulsi’s The Teacher as Basem, a Palestinian teacher in the West Bank whose support for insurgents grows after his own son dies in prison and as Israeli settlers brutalize his neighborhood.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Tomkins was hired full time by The New Yorker in 1960 and his first nonfiction feature story, on the Kinetic art pioneer Jean Tinguely, appeared two years later.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
20 Mar. 2026
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The two other 2026 inductees are the Stanley Brothers, bluegrass pioneers who will be honored in the Veteran Era Artist category, and Paul Overstreet, who will be inducted in the Songwriter category.—
Joseph Hudak,
Rolling Stone,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The colonists awoke from their dream of lucrative plantations to find churches in ashes and molasses cauldrons rusting in the grass.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 Mar. 2026
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The Quebec Act, which protected Catholicism in neighboring Quebec, was seen by some colonists as a threat and is reflected in grievances in the Declaration of Independence.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
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That this colonial looks and feels new should be credited to the current owners, who have taken extraordinary care of their home.—
James Alexander,
Hartford Courant,
22 Mar. 2026
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An extension of the kind of settler-colonial conquest of the American West, and the dispossessions of indigenous people that have been practiced for a century or so.—
Lisa Deaderick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
22 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Colonizer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colonizer. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.
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