SETTLERS Synonyms: 45 Similar and Opposite Words

settlers

noun

plural of settler

as in colonists

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

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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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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 settlers Rabah told The Associated Press that two settlers arrived with a tractor at his home in Khirbet al-Rakeez in the southern West Bank on Saturday afternoon. — ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026 Israel's military has deployed dozens of troops to the area and has since pushed the settlers back from the homes. — Reuters, USA Today, 21 Aug. 2026 When Abdeen was born, in 1940, one of the original settlers was still alive. — Rozina Ali, New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2026 Some 1,100 Palestinians have been killed in encounters with settlers or with Israeli security forces since 2023. — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 21 Aug. 2026 Best Things to Do In around 1750, French Canadian settlers founded Ste. — Erika Ebsworth-Goold, Travel + Leisure, 21 Aug. 2026 The White House has in recent days also pressured Israel’s leader to condemn Israeli settlers’ siege of Palestinians in the West Bank, which soldiers stand accused of abetting. — Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 19 Aug. 2026 Itamar Weil, an Israeli human rights activist from the group Bnei Avraham, said the army had threatened to use tear gas against the activists and forced them to leave, even as settlers remained in the valley below Qusra. — Sam Metz, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026 An American’s home is among those besieged by Israeli settlers. — Elizabeth Robinson, NBC news, 14 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for settlers

Noun

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
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 colonists

Noun

The government had checked a hundred and fifty thousand names against its files, actively monitoring immigrants and citizens alike, and deported at least seventy-eight people.

— Rozina Ali, New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2026
Born in Harlem to Caribbean immigrants, Belafonte achieved success in the 1950s – unprecedented for a Black singer and actor.

— Monitor reviewers, Christian Science Monitor, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of immigrants

Noun

Pine rockland once covered much of the high ground in Miami-Dade where early pioneers settled.

— Jenny Staletovich, Miami Herald, 17 Aug. 2026
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

Definition of pioneers

Noun

Liberia’s Justice Minister Natu Oswald Tweh said at Tuesday’s briefing that the country has screened the list of migrants ahead of their arrival.

— Mark Mengonfia, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2026
On May 12, an employee at a Union Pacific rail yard in Laredo, Texas, discovered six migrants dead inside a boxcar.

— Luke Barr, ABC News, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of migrants

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 emigrants

Noun

When refugees from Syria and Rohingya started coming to the United States, Ibrahim said UMMA started coat drives, food boxes for refugees, and offered rental assistance to those who needed a place to live.

— Steve Sadin, Chicago Tribune, 19 Aug. 2026
The number of refugees admitted to the United States during the first 10 months of the fiscal year is on pace to hit its lowest level on record, according to a new analysis.

— Shalina Chatlani, Baltimore Sun, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of refugees

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“Settlers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/settlers. Accessed 23 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of settlers

noun

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