Thesaurus results for COLONIES

colonies

noun

plural of colony

as in plantations

a settlement in a new country or region the early history of New York City when it was a Dutch colony

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as in communities

a group of people with a common interest living in one place New Hampshire's MacDowell colony was founded as a summer residence for writers and composers

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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 colonies To be fair, some British ships were engaged in illicit trade in the Spanish colonies. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Oct. 2026 Although iguana colonies remain relatively stable, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) still lists them as Vulnerable due to predators, mounting pollution issues, and cyclical El Niño events. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 15 Oct. 2026 In the last year, Robi managed 1,200 colonies across California's Central Valley and central Florida. — Rachel Sacks, Time, 15 Oct. 2026 Many crimes, including property crimes like burglary or moral sins such as adultery, were punishable by death in the American colonies. — Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Oct. 2026 Coral reefs near seabird colonies are generally healthier, thanks to the nutrients that birds deposit in their guano. — Lauren Sommer, NPR, 13 Oct. 2026 In 1867, the British government united its North American colonies to form the Canadian Confederation, in part to deter Washington from invading Canada in retaliation for London’s assistance to the Confederacy during the Civil War. — Robert B. Zoellick, Foreign Affairs, 9 Oct. 2026 As the colonies grow, more layers of sediment are trapped and solidified beneath them by biofilms that the organisms produce, causing the whole colony to build upward in layers, like the pages in this book. — Literary Hub, 2 Oct. 2026 Cooling to below 50° C (122° F) took up to 5 million years, still enough heat for colonies of microbes to thrive. — Elizabeth Rayne, ArsTechnica, 30 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for colonies

Noun

The trees are the legacy of coconut plantations established more than a century ago.

— Lauren Sommer, NPR, 13 Oct. 2026
Among those rescued were a female orangutan known as Mama Man and her infant, Man, who had been monitored for months in a small forest patch surrounded by plantations.

— ABC News, ABC News, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of plantations

Noun

The Sun enters your 11th House, beginning a month focused on friends, communities, collaborations, networks, and your longer-term hopes.

— Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 23 Oct. 2026
Seventy-one percent also doubt that his village cooperatives policy—which plans to establish hubs in roughly 80,000 communities to handle basic-goods distribution, savings, and other rural services—would succeed.

— Jay Ganglani, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of communities

Noun

Israel is reportedly occupying over 10% of Lebanon’s territories, including multiple permanent bases and outposts in southern Lebanese territory.

— Mireille Rebeiz, The Conversation, 23 Oct. 2026
In the last year, the grocer has opened in West Hollywood, Glendale and Thousand Oaks, with outposts in Costa Mesa and downtown Los Angeles locations planned for 2027.

— Ella Chakarian, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of outposts

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“Colonies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colonies. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of colonies

noun

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