as in settler
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 colonist This small settlement of more than 100 English colonists was founded on Roanoke Island off the coast of what is now North Carolina in 1587.But the colonists seemingly vanished shortly after its founding due to unknown circumstances. Barbara A. Perry, Newsweek, 28 Jan. 2025 In 1776, when King George tried to seize illegitimate control over the colonists by taxing them without their consent, the citizenry launched the American Revolutionary War. David McGrath, Chicago Tribune, 3 Mar. 2025 French colonists established Fort Rosalie near present-day Natchez, Mississippi, in 1716 as a trading post and seat of government. Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Nov. 2024 But there is no question that the document drafted by the victorious colonists to formally end the war, the Treaty of Hartford of 1638, directed that surviving Pequots be sold into slavery and stripped of their lands, history and tribal name. Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 15 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for colonist
Recent Examples of Synonyms for colonist
Noun
  • Ballal was beaten by Israeli settlers and detained by the Israeli military a few weeks after his film won an Oscar for best documentary feature.
    Shanzeh Ahmad, Chicago Tribune, 12 Apr. 2025
  • Some Israeli settlers have since October 7 called for a return to Gush Katif and for the re-settlement of Gaza, a movement emboldened by Israel’s right-wing politicians who have openly called for the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza.
    Lauren Izso, CNN Money, 3 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • It’s been sweet watching the sound expand overseas, the seeds of inspo traveling way further than the pioneers intended.
    Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 9 Apr. 2025
  • Collins went on to join another funk pioneer: George Clinton, whose alternating bands Parliament and Funkadelic were innovating a looser, more improvisational and funnier style that would help define Black music in the ’70s.
    Steve Knopper, Billboard, 9 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • McKinley, after all, presided over America’s 1898 emergence as a colonial empire.
    Robert W. Merry, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 7 Mar. 2025
  • Concrete retains its temperature, heat or cold air, better than her previous standard colonial, Feekings said.
    Diana Olick, CNBC, 12 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Colonist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colonist. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.

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