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
Four years later, Spanish colonizers returned to New Mexico and once again set out to bring the vast desert and its determined residents back under their control.
—
Peter C. Mancall, The Conversation, 9 Jan. 2026
After 15 years, Spanish troops dispersed the settlement—which had grown to 4,000, and had its own cavalry—but subsequent maroon groups forced colonizers to sign treaties with them.
—Laurent Dubois, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2026
Alcohol has devastated generations of Indigenous peoples in the Americas ever since it was introduced by colonizers.
—Frank Vaisvilas, jsonline.com, 22 Dec. 2025
They were built by Europeans – the Spanish colonizers.
—Jeanne Bonner, CNN Money, 19 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for colonizer
Peter C. Mancall, The Conversation, 9 Jan. 2026
After 15 years, Spanish troops dispersed the settlement—which had grown to 4,000, and had its own cavalry—but subsequent maroon groups forced colonizers to sign treaties with them.
—Laurent Dubois, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2026
Alcohol has devastated generations of Indigenous peoples in the Americas ever since it was introduced by colonizers.
—Frank Vaisvilas, jsonline.com, 22 Dec. 2025
They were built by Europeans – the Spanish colonizers.
—Jeanne Bonner, CNN Money, 19 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for colonizer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for colonizer
Noun
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Last week, settlers killed a Palestinian-American man, Nasrallah Abu Siyam.—
AREF TUFAHA,
Arkansas Online,
24 Feb. 2026
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These settlers played a key role in establishing businesses, including dry goods stores, banks, and shipping companies.—
Jason Touvi,
Sun Sentinel,
24 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Known as aggressive cartel The Jalisco cartel has been one of the most aggressive cartels in its attacks on the military — including on helicopters — and is a pioneer in launching explosives from drones and installing mines.—
Fabiola Sanchez,
The Orlando Sentinel,
22 Feb. 2026
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The Jalisco cartel has been one of the most aggressive cartels in its attacks on the military — including on helicopters — and is a pioneer in launching explosives from drones and installing mines.—
Fabiola Sánchez,
Fortune,
22 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Decades before the Declaration of Independence, colonists organized boycotts and public demonstrations opposing British rule.—
Karl W. Bickel,
Baltimore Sun,
24 Feb. 2026
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His outrageous attacks on the citizens of Minnesota are as egregious as anything the British Redcoats did to provoke American colonists into revolution, that started with the Battle of Lexington (painting).—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The couple married in 2010 — shortly after Van Der Beek’s divorce from his first wife, Party of Five actress Heather McComb — and settled into a 3,100-square-foot Spanish colonial in Beverly Hills (James designed the poolside daybed himself, according to an Architectural Digest piece).—
Benjamin Svetkey,
HollywoodReporter,
21 Feb. 2026
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The city’s top attractions include riding the Cerro de Monserrate funicular to sweeping views and a 17th-century monastery, visiting the colonial La Candelaria neighborhood, and spending time in the Gold Museum, home to invaluable gold artifacts and insights on indigenous Muisca culture.—
Lydia Price,
Travel + Leisure,
20 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Colonizer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colonizer. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
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