1
as in colonists
a person who settles in a new region
settlers learning to live in peace with the natives
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in immigrants
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
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Recent Examples of settlers
Earlier this month, three Palestinians were killed in a violent clash with settlers near Khirbet Abu Falah, east of Ramallah, and in a rare rebuke, the Israeli military strongly condemned the settler violence.
—
ABC News, 17 Mar. 2026
Mohamad Torokman / Reuters The Palestinian Health Ministry said one Palestinian was also killed in an attack by Israeli settlers overnight.
—Reuters, NBC news, 15 Mar. 2026
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has recorded 18 Palestinians killed in the West Bank since the start of 2026, including eight by Israeli settlers.
—Sam Metz, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2026
Some of them are regular reserve units, but some of them are specific reserve units called regional-defense battalions, and there are regional brigades in the West Bank that have regional-defense battalions under them, which are units made up mostly of settlers.
—Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2026
Some of this is inevitable — the original cadre of settlers who remember fleeing to the island with the hope of retaking the mainland has all but died off.
—Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 13 Mar. 2026
But white settlers’ hatred of Indians and desire for their lands percolated on the American frontier, while visions of territorial expansion reigned among national leaders.
—Literary Hub, 13 Mar. 2026
History of Wimberley Established as a trading post by settlers in 1848, the area was previously home to Native Americans and later frequented by Spanish conquistadors who had taken up in nearby San Antonio.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 13 Mar. 2026
Some of the older ones memorialize settlers who were born in the other sister city and died here.
—John Lauritsen, CBS News, 12 Mar. 2026
ABC News, 17 Mar. 2026
Mohamad Torokman / Reuters The Palestinian Health Ministry said one Palestinian was also killed in an attack by Israeli settlers overnight.
—Reuters, NBC news, 15 Mar. 2026
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has recorded 18 Palestinians killed in the West Bank since the start of 2026, including eight by Israeli settlers.
—Sam Metz, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2026
Some of them are regular reserve units, but some of them are specific reserve units called regional-defense battalions, and there are regional brigades in the West Bank that have regional-defense battalions under them, which are units made up mostly of settlers.
—Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2026
Some of this is inevitable — the original cadre of settlers who remember fleeing to the island with the hope of retaking the mainland has all but died off.
—Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 13 Mar. 2026
But white settlers’ hatred of Indians and desire for their lands percolated on the American frontier, while visions of territorial expansion reigned among national leaders.
—Literary Hub, 13 Mar. 2026
History of Wimberley Established as a trading post by settlers in 1848, the area was previously home to Native Americans and later frequented by Spanish conquistadors who had taken up in nearby San Antonio.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 13 Mar. 2026
Some of the older ones memorialize settlers who were born in the other sister city and died here.
—John Lauritsen, CBS News, 12 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for settlers
Noun
-
The Quebec Act, which protected Catholicism in neighboring Quebec, was seen by some colonists as a threat and is reflected in grievances in the Declaration of Independence.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 Mar. 2026
-
For one, Indigenous people resisted American colonists’ expansion into their ancestral homelands, raiding their farms and settlements in the Ohio Valley.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Stanton’s disdain for immigrants led her into emergent realms of pseudoscience that would transform into eugenics; her rhetoric about women strayed from the principle of gender equality into essentialist ideas about women’s feminine specialness.—
Moira Donegan,
New Yorker,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Egyptian immigrants Azzam and Samra Ahmed are padding their savings by performing for bots in their one-bedroom apartment in Pasadena.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The book includes the stories of pioneers like Michele Obama, and Ilona Maher who uplift others and their communities.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
12 Mar. 2026
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The early pioneers set the tone.—
Gina Góngora,
Condé Nast Traveler,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Many South African farms are ringed in barbed wire and outfitted with security cameras; one of the migrants told me a story about confronting armed robbers.—
Boyce Upholt,
New Yorker,
14 Mar. 2026
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Four more African migrants deported from the United States arrived in Eswatini, authorities said Thursday.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Most emigrants left from Sicily, where enterprising local authorities have tried to redress the balance by tempting back Italian descendants from abroad.—
Julia Buckley,
CNN Money,
14 Mar. 2026
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This hasn’t stopped Iranian emigrants from speaking out.—
Justin Klawans,
TheWeek,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The title refers to the million Syrian refugees that were admitted into Germany during the brutal civil war that culminated with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad fleeing to Moscow in November 2024.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
12 Mar. 2026
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Additionally, asylum seekers, asylees, refugees and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients would be ineligible.—
Glenn Taylor,
Sourcing Journal,
11 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Settlers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/settlers. Accessed 20 Mar. 2026.
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