Не так то просто отличать друг от друга слова синонимы. Русский язык, кстати, вообще никак нам не поможет их отличить друг от друга:
Поэтому будем копать в английские дефиниции.
1. inhabitant – a person or animal that lives in one place, usually a country or a region for a very long time.
Ex. The only human inhabitants of the Gobi desert are some nomadic tribes.
2. dweller – a person or animal that lives in a named place such as a cave, tree, or a city.
Ex. Most city dwellers get used to the high levels of noise.
3. resident – a person or animal that lives in a place, usually a house, but is not a visitor. It is also used for a person who lives permanently in a particular country or state.
Ex. Most of the residents of this neighborhood park their cars on the street.
4. pioneer – a person who is one of the first to come to an unknown land, and then is followed by others. A person who is the first to discover something which opens the way to others.
Ex. The Wright brothers were pioneers in aviation.
5. native – used of a person, plant, or animal when you refer to the place of its origin.
Ex. The Koala bear is a native of Australia.
6. settler – a person who is one of the first of a group to put their roots down in a new country.
Ex. The first settlers in America were the Pilgrims who came from England.
7. colonist – a person who is one of a group of settlers from the same country or under the control of the same country.
Ex. The early colonists faced many hardships in a new land.
8. immigrant – a person who comes to a country to make a new home there. The first immigrants are called settlers.
Ex. Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, was an immigrant who came to America from Scotland.
Веду бесплатный Speaking Club каждую субботу, пишите "Пикабу сила" в личном сообщении в ТГ @AnnaGulak и я пришлю ссылку на добавление в клуб.