SETTLER Synonyms: 45 Similar and Opposite Words

settler

noun

ˈset-lər

Definition of settler

as in pioneer

a person who settles in a new region settlers learning to live in peace with the natives

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in immigrant

one that leaves one place to settle in another in 1889 Jane Addams, in an effort to provide Chicago's latest wave of settlers with much-needed services, founded the city's first settlement house

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of settler For decades Israeli Jewish settlers have been creating settlements there, taking more and more of the West Bank away from Palestinians. — Greg Dixon, NPR, 5 Aug. 2026 Afrikaner farmers are descended from Dutch and other European colonial settlers who first came to the country more than 300 years ago. — ABC News, 3 Aug. 2026 Gilroy’s multi-ethnic roots, however, begin at its inception, when Scotsman John Gilroy became the first English-speaking settler of California, married Maria Clara Ortega – the daughter of a Spanish rancher, and then became a Mexican citizen. — Luis Melecio-Zambrano, Mercury News, 31 July 2026 The notion of zombies went back to that Caribbean nation’s days as a European colony, when huge numbers of largely African slaves were brutally disciplined and frequently worked to death by a white-settler minority. — Dennis Harvey, Variety, 31 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for settler

Recent Examples of Synonyms for settler

Noun

Summary Haley and Hanna Cavinder, pioneers of NIL, have successfully transitioned from influencers to founders, launching their own wellness brand, Go Two, and co-founding a tequila brand, Azucar.

— Kristi Dosh, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026
The Alila Ventana Big Sur resort is 51 years old, while the Post Ranch Inn sits on the former homestead of the Post pioneer family who settled in the region in the 1860s.

— Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of pioneer

Noun

Union activists routinely harassed migrants, reported them to immigration authorities and even organized their own patrols along the border, some of which resulted in violence against immigrants.

— Eladio Bobadilla, Mercury News, 6 Aug. 2026
Meanwhile, detained immigrants and their supporters have raised increasing alarms over medical care provided by ICE.

— Andrea Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of immigrant

Noun

In the sketch, Washington’s announcement prompts a skeptical colonist (David) to imagine a future leader who ignores the Constitution, uses the presidency for personal gain and seeks to remain in power.

— Yamillah Hurtado, PEOPLE, 10 Aug. 2026
Like much of the valley, Gilroy stands on land that was first occupied by the native Amah Mutsun, then taken over by Spanish colonists and later became Mexico.

— Luis Melecio-Zambrano, Mercury News, 31 July 2026

Definition of colonist

Noun

Under normal circumstances, several thousand migrants cross without documents to the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla each year.

— Kelsey Norman, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2026
Health officials and aid groups say many migrants fled South Africa without medication or medical records, raising fears of interrupted HIV treatment in a region with some of the world’s highest infection rates.

— ABC News, ABC News, 8 Aug. 2026

Definition of migrant

Noun

The decision could have broad implications for descendants of Italian emigrants, particularly in North and South America, where large Italian diaspora communities have ancestral ties to Italy.

— ABC News, ABC News, 29 July 2026
González has witnessed the ties between Mexico and its emigrants abroad evolve over four decades, starting as a young consular officer in the administration of Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari.

— Alfredo Corchado, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2026

Definition of emigrant

Noun

Born in Jerusalem, Said was displaced, along with his refugee family, in 1948, with the founding of Israel.

— Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 11 Aug. 2026
Arendt worked for Youth Aliyah, which sent Jewish refugee teen-agers, largely unemployable in France, to kibbutzim in Palestine.

— David Denby, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026