Antonyms of verb colonize

1 of 2 senses of colonize

Sense 1
colonize, colonise -- (settle as a colony; of countries in the developing world; "Europeans colonized Africa in the 17th century")
       Antonym of decolonize (Sense 1)
      => decolonize, decolonise -- (grant independence to (a former colony); "West Africa was decolonized in the early 1960's")

Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb colonize

2 senses of colonize

Sense 1
colonize, colonise -- (settle as a colony; of countries in the developing world; "Europeans colonized Africa in the 17th century")
       => annex -- (take (territory) as if by conquest; "Hitler annexed Lithuania")

Sense 2
colonize, colonise -- (settle as colonists or establish a colony (in); "The British colonized the East Coast")
       => settle, locate -- (take up residence and become established; "The immigrants settled in the Midwest")