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
Del Toro’s character points out to DiCaprio that people like him—the indigenous, the colonized, the Zapatistas, the rebels in the hills of Cuba—have been fighting the American machine for several hundred years, which is only now being felt by those of liberal sentiment.
—
Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2025
The mine sits just north of the Duck Valley Reservation on the Sho-Pai’s homelands, an area their ancestors were forcibly removed from over a century ago when Europeans colonized the West and corralled them into the remote reservation with little resources on the Idaho-Nevada border.
—Angela Palermo, Idaho Statesman, 19 Aug. 2025
Today, the estuary is home to more than 120 otters and is the only one along the West coast that has been significantly colonized by southern sea otters.
—Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY, 20 Dec. 2024
Vascular plants and animals first colonized the land, and the planet was never the same again.
—Interesting Engineering, 20 Dec. 2024
However, one lineage colonized Australia around 50 million years ago and evolved independently after the continent separated from Antarctica.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
By the time Dreyfus arrived, the trio of islands off the coast of French Guiana, part of the territory that France colonized in the 1640s, had long been collectively known as Devil’s Island.
—Rob Crossan, JSTOR Daily, 13 Dec. 2024
Carl Court / Getty Images Aliyev and others whose countries have developed more recently, many of which were colonized by the West, say they should not be punished economically for the past emissions of wealthier nations.
—Mithil Aggarwal, NBC News, 23 Nov. 2024
Advertisement The species has colonized new regions when transported on ships’ hulls or in ballast water that is drained in ports.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2024
Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2025
The mine sits just north of the Duck Valley Reservation on the Sho-Pai’s homelands, an area their ancestors were forcibly removed from over a century ago when Europeans colonized the West and corralled them into the remote reservation with little resources on the Idaho-Nevada border.
—Angela Palermo, Idaho Statesman, 19 Aug. 2025
Today, the estuary is home to more than 120 otters and is the only one along the West coast that has been significantly colonized by southern sea otters.
—Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY, 20 Dec. 2024
Vascular plants and animals first colonized the land, and the planet was never the same again.
—Interesting Engineering, 20 Dec. 2024
However, one lineage colonized Australia around 50 million years ago and evolved independently after the continent separated from Antarctica.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
By the time Dreyfus arrived, the trio of islands off the coast of French Guiana, part of the territory that France colonized in the 1640s, had long been collectively known as Devil’s Island.
—Rob Crossan, JSTOR Daily, 13 Dec. 2024
Carl Court / Getty Images Aliyev and others whose countries have developed more recently, many of which were colonized by the West, say they should not be punished economically for the past emissions of wealthier nations.
—Mithil Aggarwal, NBC News, 23 Nov. 2024
Advertisement The species has colonized new regions when transported on ships’ hulls or in ballast water that is drained in ports.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for colonized
Verb
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The Rio state government said the operation was its largest ever to target the Comando Vermelho gang, which controls the drug trade in several favelas - poor and densely populated settlements woven through the city's hilly oceanside terrain.—
Janaina Quinet,
USA Today,
29 Oct. 2025
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The next chunk of the record book is the 185 mph club, populated by 2019’s Hurricane Dorian, Wilma, Gilbert, the Labor Day Hurricane — and now, Melissa.—
Alex Harris,
Miami Herald,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The mountains inside the park had been inhabited for centuries, by the native Cherokee and later by farmers and families who lived and worked in small mill towns tucked into the valleys.—
Graham Averill,
Outside,
28 Oct. 2025
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In 2020 and 2024, the party platform began with land acknowledgments for the Native American tribes that had previously inhabited their convention sites.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
27 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Colonized.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colonized. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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