colonised

Established foreign rule

Colonised is the British spelling of colonized, the past tense of colonize.

To colonize is to establish control over a territory and its people, typically by a foreign power: India was colonised by the British for nearly two centuries.

The word extends to any takeover or spread: bacteria colonise a wound, invasive species colonise new habitats.

In contemporary discourse, colonised often carries critical weight, highlighting exploitation and cultural erasure.

exploited

plundered

Forcibly took valuables

pillaged · drained · appropriated · dispossessed · enslaved · resources · labour · commodities · raw materials · cash crops

settled

settlement

Resolved dispute or colony

plantation · outpost · enclave · inhabitants · migration · colonists · establishment · cultivation · territory · habitation

imperial

empire

Domain under unified control

territory · protectorate · sovereignty · colonialism · imperialism · viceroy · governorship · mandate · hegemony · administration

subjugated

dominated

Controlled or overpowered

subordinated · marginalized · silenced · disenfranchised · persecuted · coerced · disempowered · deprived · victimised · indigenous

occupied

garrison

Stationed military force

controlled · patrolled · fortified · besieged · overrun · entrenched · held · claimed · guarded · encamped

assimilated

acculturated

Adapted to new culture

syncretism · adaptation · indoctrination · language loss · cultural erasure · missionaries · boarding schools · anglicisation · creolisation · hybridity

Opposites
political sovereignty

colonisedindependent

Free from external control

liberated · sovereign · free · self-governing · autonomous

settlement/habitation status

coloniseduninhabited

Having no occupants

unsettled · unpopulated · empty · virgin · pristine

historical process

coloniseddecolonise

End foreign domination

decolonize · liberate · free · emancipate · repatriate

Family

colonist, colonise, colonising, colonisation, colonises, coloniser, colonisers, decolonise, decolonised

Familiarity
Top 200,000
Profile
Timeless · Negative · Everyday, not technical · Rated PG