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 This is particularly important to them as religiously observant Jews, like most settlers. — Dina Kraft, Christian Science Monitor, 19 Aug. 2026 What is more likely to happen is a third uprising on the West Bank, followed by massive bloodshed between Palestinians and settlers. — Trudy Rubin, Twin Cities, 18 Aug. 2026 The settlers, emboldened by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government, have ramped up attacks on Palestinian towns and villages, harassing residents and setting homes, mosques and fields ablaze. — Sam Metz, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2026 Critics say Netanyahu's government, which includes ultranationalist, pro-settler ministers, has emboldened the settlers, leading to the increase in attacks. — Frank Andrews, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for settler

Recent Examples of Synonyms for settler

Noun

In reality, decades of land abuse and exploitation left behind a scarred terrain uniquely prepared for the arrival of kudzu as a fast-growing pioneer plant.

— The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 26 Aug. 2026
The early quantum pioneers didn’t realize — at first — that the arcane math that strikingly captured the conduct of atoms had left the real world behind.

— Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of pioneer

Noun

Dolly Parton stood up for undocumented immigrants when few others would, argues columnist Gustavo Arellano.

— Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
The postponements began shortly after federal judges this month rejected the administration’s attempts to use blanket pauses, rather than individual assessments, to prevent certain immigrants from receiving visas over public-charge concerns.

— María Luisa Paúl, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of immigrant

Noun

In his telling, the Lenape agreed to sell Dutch colonists only as much land on Manhattan as could be covered by a man’s breeches.

— Eric Lach, New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2026
What happened to the colonists remains unknown, but archaeological finds—including otherwise anachronistic English artifacts on Hatteras Island—give some support to White’s theory that at least some of the colonists relocated willingly.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of colonist

Noun

Reuters reported that five migrants who refused to disembark after arriving in Monrovia were flown instead to Equatorial Guinea in Central Africa, where they are held with more than 30 other migrants previously sent there by the US.

— Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026
Conditions at the hotel have worsened in recent months, Yoon said, with food sometimes withheld and guards accused of threatening, beating and choking some of the migrants.

— Mark Banchereau, Los Angeles Times, 24 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

The location once served as an asylum center for Cuban refugees and is now a museum dedicated to Cuban history.

— Claire Heddles, Miami Herald, 25 Aug. 2026
Funding for refugee support is drying up, hostility toward Ukrainians is growing, and Poland still lacks a long-term integration strategy.

— ABC News, ABC News, 25 Aug. 2026