colonize

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

2. (transitive) To settle (a group of people, a species, or the like) in a place as a colony.Examples: "When you are colonized by dangerous bacteria their presence in your body does no damage. You become a reservoir for those little stinkers."transitive

3. (transitive) To settle among and establish control over (the indigenous people of an area).Examples: "The administration finally sent a naval vessel to return the 368 survivors to the United States in 1864. This ended official efforts to colonize blacks."transitive

4. (intransitive) To begin a colony or colonies.intransitive

5. (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.Examples: "What disservice would be done if issues regarding sexualities in organisations were side-lined by a heteronormative impetus to colonise queer theory?"; "For slavery aimed not only to colonize black women's bodies, sex, and sexuality, to undermine her, it sought to subvert and destroy any authentic relationship between black women and black men as well as among black women themselves."; "[…] suggesting that organisational discourses of heteronormativity cannot fully colonise gay sexualities and genders."broadlytransitive