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
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Recent Examples of colonist
Paul Revere’s famous Midnight ride alerted the colonists that British troops (known as Regulars or Redcoats) were on the march to capture military supplies and leaders.
—
William Lambers, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 Apr. 2026
The 1774 Articles of Association, which urged colonists to boycott British goods.
—Linh Tat, Daily News, 13 Apr. 2026
Portugal and Germany in Southern Africa For much of the 19th century, Portuguese colonists in Angola and Mozambique were fewer in number and weaker in authority than those in the interior of South Africa.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
The early colonists were very much anti-idol worshippers and even modern Catholics, as Vice President Vance surely knows, have long been criticized by their Protestant counterparts for a love of statuary, reliquaries and other iconography that some have argued fall into idolatry.
—Culture Critic, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for colonist
William Lambers, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 Apr. 2026
The 1774 Articles of Association, which urged colonists to boycott British goods.
—Linh Tat, Daily News, 13 Apr. 2026
Portugal and Germany in Southern Africa For much of the 19th century, Portuguese colonists in Angola and Mozambique were fewer in number and weaker in authority than those in the interior of South Africa.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
The early colonists were very much anti-idol worshippers and even modern Catholics, as Vice President Vance surely knows, have long been criticized by their Protestant counterparts for a love of statuary, reliquaries and other iconography that some have argued fall into idolatry.
—Culture Critic, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for colonist
Recent Examples of Synonyms for colonist
Noun
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On March 30, soldiers from the battalion detained a CNN team covering settler violence in the village of Tayasir in the West Bank.—
Oren Liebermann,
CNN Money,
28 Apr. 2026
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Local history is also reflected in the design, with a Navy pilot (representing the former Naval Air Station Glenview); a member of the Kennicott family, the early settlers of The Grove; the Glenview Farmer’s Market; and a child riding in the 4th of July bike parade featured.—
Jennifer Johnson,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Even the pioneers of AI will tell you, Stassun said, in many cases, what AI does very well is rapidly synthesizing, consolidating or repackaging existing information.—
National Correspondent,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Apr. 2026
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Commissioners McSlavkin and Ella Cross both questioned a historical mural in the tunnel, which includes controversial pioneers John Sutter and Peter Burnett, during the meeting.—
Graham Womack,
Sacbee.com,
25 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Yet, as throngs of people strolled the three-block downtown on a recent April weekend, past American flag streamers, patriotic bunting and red brick colonial buildings, there was scant visible evidence of that polarization.—
Karissa Waddick,
USA Today,
25 Apr. 2026
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The sharp drop in mortgage rates to below 3% from mid-2020 to early 2022 enabled folks to pay big numbers for their ranch or colonial and not cut back on dining out or cutting short the trip to Disney World.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
11 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Colonist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colonist. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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