Colonize

Quick meaning: Colonize is a verb meaning (transitive) To settle (a place) with colonists, and hence make (a place) into a colony.

Meaning

(transitive) To settle (a place) with colonists, and hence make (a place) into a colony.

More Meanings

1. (transitive) To settle among and establish control over (the indigenous people of an area).
2. (intransitive) To begin a colony or colonies.
3. (transitive, social sciences, by extension) To intrude into and take over (the autonomy, experience, social movement, etc, of a less powerful person or group); to commandeer or appropriate.

Example Sentences

To have our grief colonized to facilitate a racist political agenda was beyond offensive.

The burden of judgment imposed by the politics of respectability can easily colonize black minds.

[…] suggesting that organisational discourses of heteronormativity cannot fully colonise gay sexualities and genders.

When you are colonized by dangerous bacteria their presence in your body does no damage. You become a reservoir for those little stinkers.

Word Forms

• colonizes
• colonizing
• colonized
• colonise

Antonyms for colonize

Common opposites include decolonize.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include settle, colonise, recolonize, colonialize, colonialise, neo-colonize.

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