English Vocabulary — Choose the closest meaning (contextual synonym). Sentence (corrected): The pioneers left a blazing trail of courage, manliness, and chivalry.

Introduction / Context:
The word “pioneers” is associated with the first people to explore or settle a new area. In historical writing, it often leans toward those who establish communities on new frontiers. Given the collocation with “trail,” a frontier/settlement sense is strongly evoked in the sentence.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Key noun: pioneers.
• Clue word: “trail” (frontier imagery).
• We must choose the option that best captures first movers into a region.

Concept / Approach:
“Pioneer” can denote an early explorer, but in frontier narratives it commonly means a first settler who founds homes, farms, or towns. Among the options, “settlers” fits this frontier connotation most precisely. “Explorers” emphasizes discovery without habitation; “inventors” create devices or techniques; “colonialist” is a political label and mismatches number/usage (also spelled “colonialist” as a count noun but not the closest match here).

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:
Paraphrase: “The settlers left a blazing trail of courage …” This is standard phrasing in frontier histories, biographies, and textbooks, matching the sentence's tone and imagery.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• inventors: Create inventions; unrelated to territorial expansion.
• explorers: Travel to discover; do not necessarily settle.
• colonialist: Political ideology/agent of colonial policy; not the neutral frontier sense intended.

Common Pitfalls:
Treating “pioneer” only as “explorer.” In many curricula, the primary school sense stresses founding settlements, which better aligns with “settlers.”

Final Answer:
settlers