colonizer

noun

ˈkä-lə-ˌnī-zər How to pronounce colonizer (audio)
Definition of colonizernext
as in settler
a person who settles in a new region the first colonizers of Easter Island must have faced untold challenges

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 colonizer Built in 1610 by Spanish and Indigenous laborers, the church was destroyed in the 1680 Pueblo Revolt that drove Spanish colonizers out of the region for 12 years. — Dan Fellner, AZCentral.com, 23 Aug. 2026 Smallpox began decimating Indigenous populations shortly after European colonizers arrived in the Americas during the late 15th century. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 30 July 2026 It's made even more complicated by the fact that after the war, Japan left and the Republic of China came and very quickly adopted the former colonizer's methods of ruling people. — Jan Camenzind Broomby, NPR, 29 July 2026 Co-founder and tour guide Hannah Michelle Brower says the tour will be a historical journey exploring passenger pigeons and the Lenape people, as well as looking at how the arrival of European colonizers accelerated commercial exploitation and ultimately contributed to the extinction of the bird. — Terra Sullivan, CBS News, 29 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for colonizer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for colonizer
  1. settler
  2. pioneer
  3. colonist
  4. colonial
Noun
  • Israeli settlers opened fire on olive harvesters in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, killing a Palestinian officer who responded to the attack and wounding 16, Palestinian officials said.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 8 Oct. 2026
  • At least one Palestinian was killed and 14 injured when Jewish settlers attacked olive farmers near the town of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported today.
    — Charlene Gubash, NBC news, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of settler
Noun
  • In 1966, healthcare advocacy pioneer Ruth Ravich founded the Department of Patient Representation at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York – widely considered the beginning of the patient advocate role.
    — Jennifer Schlinger, The Conversation, 6 Oct. 2026
  • For the milestone edition, streetwear pioneer Hiroshi Fujiwara and his Fragment Design label served as artistic directors alongside rapper Playboi Carti, shaping the festival’s products, programming and experiences.
    — Ryma Chikhoune, Footwear News, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of pioneer
Noun
  • The animals reached Spain during the Roman Empire and were later brought to what is now Mexico by Spanish colonists in the 1500s.
    — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Till then, although the frontier had been placed under imperial control, land-hungry colonists and companies kept pushing across it.
    — J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of colonist
Noun
  • Think of the breezy Hamptons beach house in Something’s Gotta Give, the classic colonial in Father of the Bride, the dreamy Brooklyn brownstone in The Intern, the storybook English cottage and Mediterranean-modern San Marino manse in The Holiday.
    — Ingrid Schmidt, HollywoodReporter, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Then more arrive, with increasing menace, turning husband and wife against one another and leading to inevitable revelations, both about an incident from Georges’ childhood as well as France’ brutal colonial past.
    — David Faris, TheWeek, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of colonial

Browse Nearby Words

colonized
colonizer
colonizers
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Cite this Entry

“Colonizer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colonizer. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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