as in settler
a person who settles in a new region
the hardships that the pioneers endured while taming the wilderness
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in first
coming before all others in time or order
the nation's pioneer institution for the education of African-Americans
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to establish
to be responsible for the creation and early operation or use of
he single-handedly pioneered the university's institute for medical research
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pioneer
Literary Hub, 28 Jan. 2026
Nepali film pioneer Bahm has led the way in bringing cinema from the Himalayas to the world stage.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 28 Jan. 2026
Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 12 Dec. 2024
Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 23 Jan. 2026
An adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s pioneering 1959 gothic horror novel, the two-timeline series follows a group of siblings who return to their haunted childhood home after their sister Nell (Victoria Pedretti) dies there under mysterious circumstances.
—David Faris, TheWeek, 23 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pioneer
Noun
The pioneer encounter occurred 3 miles offshore.
—Literary Hub, 28 Jan. 2026
Nepali film pioneer Bahm has led the way in bringing cinema from the Himalayas to the world stage.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 28 Jan. 2026
Adjective
In tandem with the modernist movement of the 20th century was the Danish concept of functionalism; a design philosophy of form follows function, which was introduced by pioneer Danish architects like Poul Henningsen and Vilhelm Lauritzen.
—Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 12 Dec. 2024
Verb
This blending of musical cultures takes the narrative quality of traditional corridos and incorporates rap and hip-hop styling, as well as uniquely modern Mexican American stories, as pioneered in large part by groups like Herencia de Patrones.
—Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 23 Jan. 2026
An adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s pioneering 1959 gothic horror novel, the two-timeline series follows a group of siblings who return to their haunted childhood home after their sister Nell (Victoria Pedretti) dies there under mysterious circumstances.
—David Faris, TheWeek, 23 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pioneer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pioneer
Noun
-
What settler stole this sacred land and is now charging me for these healing waters?—
Gaby Iori
January 27,
Literary Hub,
27 Jan. 2026
-
And so Heyerdahl recast the island’s earliest settlers as members of a Caucasian race who had migrated from what is now Iraq or Turkey to the Americas and then across the Pacific, and who were tall, fair, blue-eyed, and bearded—not unlike Heyerdahl himself, as Pitts wryly observes.—
Margaret Talbot,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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If approved for the public safety role, Williams would be Pittsburgh's first Black director of the department.—
Chilekasi Adele,
CBS News,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Johnson was around in 2013 when Dave Gettleman took defensive tackles Star Lotulelei and Kawann Short in the first and second rounds, respectively, in Gettleman’s first draft as Carolina’s GM.—
Joseph Person,
New York Times,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The following components work together to establish this style’s iconic look.—
Erica Puisis,
The Spruce,
31 Jan. 2026
-
The proposal also establishes more predictable timelines for preparing environmental impact statements, reducing delays and providing greater certainty for both developers and financing partners.—
Carlina Rivera,
New York Daily News,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Historically, it was meant to remedy something that was true in England, where the colonists came from, which was that the king or those empowered by the king could invade people’s homes at will.—
John E. Jones,
Fortune,
23 Jan. 2026
-
If these nanotubes are already there, future lunar colonists might not need to bring expensive sensors or battery components from Earth.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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These two agents appear to be the two officers identified as the shooters in an initial report by the Department of Homeland Security about the incident.—
Yahya Abou-Ghazala,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026
-
During an initial court appearance Thursday, a judge granted the government's request to detain Kazmierczak pending a detention hearing Tuesday.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips.—
Jeanne Phillips,
Mercury News,
27 Jan. 2026
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In 1916, the Tri-State/Denver Buddhist Temple, also known as the Denver Buddhist Church at the time, was founded at 1950 Lawrence St.—
Jessica Alvarado Gamez,
Denver Post,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Live and Let Die also notably broke the color barrier, with Bond’s relationship with a Black woman, Rosie Carver (Gloria Hendry), being among the foremost mainstream films to feature an interracial romance.—
Sezin Devi Koehler,
Entertainment Weekly,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Even now the Schrödinger equation remains physicists’ foremost window into the quantum realm.—
Joseph Howlett,
Scientific American,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Amazon initiated a big round of job cuts in October, removing 14,000 corporate roles and gutting its video games division.—
Spencer Soper,
Bloomberg,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Council member Elizabeth Beck initiated the motion to approve.—
Emily Holshouser,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
28 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pioneer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pioneer. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
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