as in populated
to supply with inhabitants
believes that someday humans will be sent to colonize Mars
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Recent Examples of colonized
Viewed from certain perspectives—the perspective of history, the perspective of the roughly one quarter of the world that was once colonized by Britain—London is a metropolis built on crime.
—
Mark O’Connell, The New York Review of Books, 25 Apr. 2026
From the moment the Dutch colonized the area in the 17th century, disposing of trash has vexed New York City leaders, recognized as heroes when the city somehow gets clean and villainized when the trash piles soar.
—Tim Craig The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 5 Apr. 2026
The family lives on the Caribbean island of Martinique, which was colonized first by the Spanish and then the French in 1635.
—Madeleine Janz, PEOPLE, 1 Apr. 2026
Written in lyrical and rhythmic prose, the novel delves into the lasting moral and spiritual distortions created by colonization in both colonizer and colonized.
—Alvin Birdi, Encyclopedia Britannica, 31 Mar. 2026
Two years ago, students occupied buildings and colonized the quad.
—Rose Horowitch, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026
Life only became complex, differentiated, and colonized the continental land on Earth a few hundred million years ago.
—Big Think, 17 Feb. 2026
The buildings that housed a prideful labor force are vandalized, colonized by squatters or boarded up.
—Mery Mogollón, Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2026
Ethiopia, the only African nation not colonized in the early 20th century, became a powerful symbol of Black freedom and influenced much of the visual symbolism seen today, according to Blavity (via Yahoo).
—Alex Perry, Cincinnati Enquirer, 12 Feb. 2026
Mark O’Connell, The New York Review of Books, 25 Apr. 2026
From the moment the Dutch colonized the area in the 17th century, disposing of trash has vexed New York City leaders, recognized as heroes when the city somehow gets clean and villainized when the trash piles soar.
—Tim Craig The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 5 Apr. 2026
The family lives on the Caribbean island of Martinique, which was colonized first by the Spanish and then the French in 1635.
—Madeleine Janz, PEOPLE, 1 Apr. 2026
Written in lyrical and rhythmic prose, the novel delves into the lasting moral and spiritual distortions created by colonization in both colonizer and colonized.
—Alvin Birdi, Encyclopedia Britannica, 31 Mar. 2026
Two years ago, students occupied buildings and colonized the quad.
—Rose Horowitch, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026
Life only became complex, differentiated, and colonized the continental land on Earth a few hundred million years ago.
—Big Think, 17 Feb. 2026
The buildings that housed a prideful labor force are vandalized, colonized by squatters or boarded up.
—Mery Mogollón, Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2026
Ethiopia, the only African nation not colonized in the early 20th century, became a powerful symbol of Black freedom and influenced much of the visual symbolism seen today, according to Blavity (via Yahoo).
—Alex Perry, Cincinnati Enquirer, 12 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for colonized
Verb
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Roman Wasenmüller, Spotify’s vp, global head of podcasts, told The Hollywood Reporter that the existing health and wellness content on the app, populated by video and audio of mediation, yoga and strength workouts made by outside creators, has been seeing 30 percent growth year over year.—
Caitlin Huston,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Apr. 2026
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In particular, the center group remains populated with considerable talent.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Archeological evidence shows that the land may have been inhabited by the native Wappo people as early as 2000 BC.—
Rachel Cormack,
Robb Report,
24 Apr. 2026
-
The group winds up settling on a new planet inhabited by two rival native factions, the Garkohn and the Tehkohn, and Alanna gets caught right in the middle of their conflict.—
Malia Mendez,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Colonized.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colonized. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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