colonizer
/ˈkɒlənaɪzə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈkɑːlənaɪzər/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈkä-lə-ˌnī-zər/ (ame, mw)
colonizer — noun
1. a country, government, or person that goes into another land that does not belon
a country, government, or person that goes into another land that does not belong to them, often with armies, and rules it so that their own people can settle there and use its wealth
Mauricio teaches that Spain was one of the main colonizers of South America.
the colonizers of [region]
Many African leaders demanded that the former colonizers return looted artworks.
former colonizers + plural collective noun
After independence, Camila's village burned all paperwork left by the colonizers.
Ilan argued in class that the British were ruthless colonizers in nineteenth-century India.
Diya's documentary shows how the colonizers built railways to ship cotton out of the country.
- colonial power
more formal; emphasizes the state acting, not individuals
- imperialist
broader: any expansionist state, not just one that plants settlers
- occupier
neutral on whether settlers arrive; focuses on military presence
- colony
the territory taken over, not the taker
- the colonized
the people or land subjected to colonial rule
文法句型
the colonizers of [region]
a former colonizer
用法筆記
Subject is usually a nation, empire, or government acting on a foreign territory, though it can also name the individual agents who arrive with them. Distinguish from sense 2, which is biological, not political.
常見錯誤
2. a plant, animal, or tiny living thing that is one of the first to move into a ne
a plant, animal, or tiny living thing that is one of the first to move into a new or empty area and grow there in large numbers, often changing the place so other living things can live there too
Élise explained that lichens are early colonizers of bare rock after a glacier melts.
early colonizers of [habitat]
Cole watched grey squirrels become aggressive colonizers of the small woodland near his school.
aggressive colonizers + invasive context
The mosses growing on the burned hillside are the first colonizers of the new soil.
Jisoo's biology textbook calls fireweed a quick colonizer of land cleared by forest fires.
On Minh's island, rats became unwelcome colonizers and wiped out three kinds of nesting bird.
- pioneer species
technical ecology term; the first organisms to populate a barren area
- invader
implies harm to the existing ecosystem; not always true of a colonizer
- settler species
less common; emphasizes establishing residence rather than spreading
- native species
organisms already established in the area before the colonizer arrived
文法句型
early colonizers of [habitat]
a successful colonizer
用法筆記
Common in ecology writing for organisms that establish themselves first in disturbed or newly available habitats. Often paired with 'early', 'first', 'pioneer', 'invasive', or 'aggressive'. Distinguish from sense 1, where the agent is human or political.