1
as in plantations
a settlement in a new country or region
the early history of New York City when it was a Dutch colony
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of colonies
Traditionally, America was at the forefront of decolonization and making the Europeans give up their colonies, forcing them to do so or putting pressure to do.
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Ramy Inocencio, CBS News, 9 Jan. 2026
Social insect colonies are a great place for an epidemic to spread, according to Neil Tsutsui, a behavioral ecologist at the University of California, Berkeley, who was not involved in the research.
—Arundathi Nair, NPR, 7 Jan. 2026
As the plantation colonies of the British and French Caribbean grew in the late 17th and 18th centuries, escapees formed maroon enclaves there as well.
—Laurent Dubois, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2026
Massachusetts, Virginia and New York, among the colonies that became America’s first states, also have stacked calendars.
—New York Times, 6 Jan. 2026
Like the rulers of other European colonies, French colonial administrators sent in troops—known as the maréchaussée—to track down the maroon groups, but the French rarely negotiated.
—Literary Hub, 5 Jan. 2026
The celebration of the founding of the United States is everpresent in Connecticut — one of the 13 original colonies.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 4 Jan. 2026
Beekeepers said locating colonies now took hours instead of minutes.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 30 Dec. 2025
Their prophet, the woman who brought Shakerism from Manchester, England all the way to the American colonies in 1774, played by Amanda Seyfried, learns of the insubordination.
—Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 25 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for colonies
Noun
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With the Louisiana Purchase, a huge domestic slave trade got under way, supplying labor to cotton and sugar plantations.—
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Advertisement The two graveyards rest on land that was once part of one of over 50 plantations owned by the white Hairston family across several states.—
Noun
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Indeed, this tragedy reflects the deep strain being felt in countless communities across our nation.—
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Upper Lake & Covelo Ranger DistrictsNorthshore Reforestation and Bartlett Springs pile burning located northeast of North Shore communities Nice, Lucerne and Clearlake Oaks in Lake County.—
Noun
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The money would find its way to China, Russia, Nigeria, and other far-off outposts.—
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The pastry’s stature in the city was further boosted this year with the arrival of Juici Patties, a beloved Jamaican chain that opened outposts in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens.—
Cite this Entry
“Colonies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colonies. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.
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