colonists

plural of colonist
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

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 colonists The original model for the kind of adversarial speech the First Amendment aims to protect, McGrane said, was the speech American colonists used against the British. — Sarah Cutler, Idaho Statesman, 15 Oct. 2026 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 The contest for our land came to be between the British crown and the colonists. — J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 29 Sep. 2026 The English lacked a body of laws specific to slavery; their colonists adapted. — Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026 Before the American Revolution, white American colonists enjoyed one of the highest standards of living in the Western world. — Sandra Slater, The Conversation, 21 Sep. 2026 Iroquois envoys regularly visited colonists, both to size up their ambitious rivals and to give advice on how to survive on an American continent where Native American culture dominated. — Scott Baldauf, Christian Science Monitor, 17 Sep. 2026 Japan regained sovereignty over the island in the 1970s, but the American military still has a heavy presence there, continuing tensions between locals and the armed colonists surrounding them. — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2026 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, 14 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for colonists
Noun
  • As explored in my recent book, this dialect formed from linguistic variation that came in with colonial-era settlers from different places and stations.
    — Valerie M. Fridland, The Conversation, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Israeli police have arrested 10 suspects in the occupied West Bank following attacks by Jewish settlers over the weekend in which a US journalist and European diplomats were among those injured.
    — Chas Newkey-Burden, TheWeek, 20 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • From honoring industry pioneers with the Latin Music Legacy Award to bringing Tito Nieves and Luis Figueroa together to discuss the evolution of salsa, AARP was part of the conversations where culture, community and generations connect.
    — Billboard Staff, Billboard, 23 Oct. 2026
  • But beyond icon status, Moncler praises its three leading ladies as pioneers.
    — Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Colonists.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colonists. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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