as in settlers
a person who settles in a new region
over time the colonists began to sense that they were becoming a people unto themselves
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of colonists
Pairing apple pie and cheddar cheese is an American tradition that began with English colonists and persists today in the Northeast and Midwest.
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Staff Author, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Sep. 2025
European colonists in America killed beavers primarily for their furs and for their scent glands, which were (and are) used in perfumes.
—Literary Hub, 19 Sep. 2025
Their pacifism later brings them in direct conflict with the colonists gearing up to fight the British.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2025
The over-the-top propaganda that leads the game off suggests the Earth Directorate is here to protect colonists from out-of-control corporations and tyrannical governments.
—Kyle Orland, ArsTechnica, 27 Aug. 2025
Salt Cay’s biggest industry (salt production) began in the late 1600s, when British colonists from Bermuda developed the salinas (salt ponds) and the infrastructure.
—Peter Kelly, Travel + Leisure, 18 Aug. 2025
Kruger was determined to establish a strong republic controlled by Afrikaners [South Africans descended from Dutch colonists].
—The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 15 Aug. 2025
The Robinsons, a family of space colonists leave an over-populated Earth in search of a new world.
—Jim Clash, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025
Recommended for European travelers and colonists heading to the East in the late 1800s, quinine was initially added to various alcoholic beverages to mask its bitterness.
—Alexandra Emanuelli, Southern Living, 23 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for colonists
Noun
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But the real story is the people, the pioneers who had an idea, and the settlers who turned it into a legacy.—
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Ringneck pheasants were established 20 years later, and most of the new settlers became pheasant hunters rather than grouse hunters.—
Noun
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The leaders and companies that accomplish this will remember 2025-2030 not for jobs lost, but for becoming pioneers of the age of human-AI partnerships, reshaping entire industries.—
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On the other hand, human pioneers utilizing AI can initiate the process of relocating mining and industry off the planet, and, working together, enable us to expand the domain of life.—
Cite this Entry
“Colonists.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colonists. Accessed 4 Oct. 2025.
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