trailbreakers
First ones through
Trailbreakers are people who forge new paths, whether literally through wilderness or figuratively through innovation and social change.
The term emphasizes the effort of breaking through obstacles rather than merely being first: The early suffragists were trailbreakers who faced imprisonment for their cause.
Less common than trailblazers, which has largely replaced it.
Settlers of unsettled land
- settlersThose who establish homes
- homesteadersLand-claiming rural settlers
- colonistsSettlers in new territory
- foundersThose who begin institutions
vanguard · groundbreakers · forerunners · progenitors · originators · precursors · discoverers · mavericks
Organized exploratory journey
- wildernessUncultivated, uninhabited natural region
- unchartedNot yet documented
- frontierEdge of settlement
- bushwhackingCutting through dense vegetation
backcountry · pathfinding · wayfinding · scout · terrain · trekking · hiking · backpacking
Tending to interrupt order
- cutting-edgeAt innovation's forefront
- groundbreakingIntroducing radical new ideas
- revolutionarySeeking fundamental systemic change
- visionaryImaginative planner of futures
inventive · avant-garde · unconventional · experimental · trendsetting · forward-thinking · game-changing · boundary-pushing
frontiersmen
Settlers of unsettled land
- settlersThose who establish homes
- homesteadersLand-claiming rural settlers
- colonistsSettlers in new territory
founders · vanguard · groundbreakers · forerunners · progenitors · originators · precursors · discoverers · mavericks
expedition
Organized exploratory journey
- wildernessUncultivated, uninhabited natural region
- unchartedNot yet documented
- frontierEdge of settlement
bushwhacking · backcountry · pathfinding · wayfinding · scout · terrain · trekking · hiking · backpacking · navigation
disruptive
Tending to interrupt order
- cutting-edgeAt innovation's forefront
- groundbreakingIntroducing radical new ideas
- revolutionarySeeking fundamental systemic change
visionary · inventive · avant-garde · unconventional · experimental · trendsetting · forward-thinking · game-changing · boundary-pushing · unprecedented
trailbreakersfollowers
People who support someone
imitators · copycats · latecomers · hangers-on · camp followers
trailbreakersconformists
Those obeying social norms
traditionalists · conventionalists · sheep · conservatives · yes-men