recolonized; recolonizing; recolonizes

transitive verb

: to colonize (a previously colonized region or habitat) again
At the end of the ice age some 10,000 years ago, reindeer were among the first animals to recolonize northern Scandinavia. Bryan Alexander
The half-century's colonization of Normandy in the fifteenth century had been followed by plans to recolonize Ireland from about 1520 onward, but tentative efforts to put those plans into effect after 1550 had met with little success. David B. Quinn

Examples of recolonize in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The collected data will shed light on how species adapt and recolonize—or don’t. Anton Sorokin, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Feb. 2025 The warning was originally aimed at certain European powers that wanted to colonize or recolonize certain parts of the Americas. Steve Forbes, Forbes, 5 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1765, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of recolonize was circa 1765

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Cite this Entry

“Recolonize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/recolonize. Accessed 18 Mar. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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