as in settlers
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 colonizers
The language first reached the continent in the early twentieth century and gained popularity during the postcolonial era as a politically neutral replacement for the still-persistent languages of European colonizers.
—
Katie Thornton, Harpers Magazine, 26 May 2026
Seeing Pocahontas poised on a chair, wearing an elegant hat and holding a quill pen, the English had assumed that Native Americans would embrace the colonizers’ ways.
—Peter C. Mancall, The Conversation, 25 May 2026
Stressing the omnipresent influence of the Portuguese colonizers, chorizo cooks with red kidney beans and black-eyed peas in a spunky chile-vinegar tomato sauce in a Goan adaptation of Brazilian feijoada.
—Scott Hocker, TheWeek, 11 May 2026
To early European colonizers, sassafras appeared to be a medical miracle.
—Kari Traylor, JSTOR Daily, 30 Apr. 2026
Angola’s Portuguese colonizers were emboldened by 15th-century directives from the Vatican that authorized them to enslave non-Christians.
—ABC News, 19 Apr. 2026
Crossing Thousands of Miles of Open Ocean Hawaiian leaf-roller moths are among the most successful long-distance colonizers of any native Hawaiian animals, according to the research.
—Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 6 Apr. 2026
According to the research, Hawaiian leaf-roller moths are among the most successful long-distance colonizers of any native Hawaiian animals.
—Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 6 Apr. 2026
The Vikings were raiders, pirates, traders, explorers, and colonizers who traveled far beyond their homeland in Scandinavia between the 9th and 11 centuries.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
Katie Thornton, Harpers Magazine, 26 May 2026
Seeing Pocahontas poised on a chair, wearing an elegant hat and holding a quill pen, the English had assumed that Native Americans would embrace the colonizers’ ways.
—Peter C. Mancall, The Conversation, 25 May 2026
Stressing the omnipresent influence of the Portuguese colonizers, chorizo cooks with red kidney beans and black-eyed peas in a spunky chile-vinegar tomato sauce in a Goan adaptation of Brazilian feijoada.
—Scott Hocker, TheWeek, 11 May 2026
To early European colonizers, sassafras appeared to be a medical miracle.
—Kari Traylor, JSTOR Daily, 30 Apr. 2026
Angola’s Portuguese colonizers were emboldened by 15th-century directives from the Vatican that authorized them to enslave non-Christians.
—ABC News, 19 Apr. 2026
Crossing Thousands of Miles of Open Ocean Hawaiian leaf-roller moths are among the most successful long-distance colonizers of any native Hawaiian animals, according to the research.
—Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 6 Apr. 2026
According to the research, Hawaiian leaf-roller moths are among the most successful long-distance colonizers of any native Hawaiian animals.
—Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 6 Apr. 2026
The Vikings were raiders, pirates, traders, explorers, and colonizers who traveled far beyond their homeland in Scandinavia between the 9th and 11 centuries.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for colonizers
Noun
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Sibiu, Romania — A fusion of Romanian, German and Hungarian cultures, Sibiu’s architecture dates back to the Middle Ages and was built by German settlers.—
Hanna Wickes,
Charlotte Observer,
3 June 2026
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Potatoes arrived in Europe later that century and in North America about half a century after that, with European settlers (though researchers in Utah have found residue of a wild potato on a tool dating back more than 10,000 years).—
Tamar Adler,
Vogue,
3 June 2026
Noun
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The pizza joint tied with Sei, Tony’s in San Francisco, has long been ambitious as one of the American pioneers of the rising art of the pizza tasting menu.—
Jeremy Repanich,
Robb Report,
28 May 2026
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And Teladoc Health—one of telemedicine’s pioneers—has expanded beyond urgent care into chronic condition management.—
Dr. Peter Fotinos,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
Noun
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The American origin story is rooted in the notion that George III was its vanquished villain, an irrational tyrant who oppressed the American colonists.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 June 2026
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Then, head next door to the Jamestown Settlement, also a living history museum, to view replicas of a 17th-century Indigenous village, James Fort, and the three ships the colonists sailed in from England.—
Lydia Mansel,
Travel + Leisure,
30 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Colonizers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colonizers. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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