apostle

noun apos·tle \ ə-ˈpä-səl \

Definition of apostle

1 : one sent on a mission: such as

a : one of an authoritative New Testament group sent out to preach the gospel and made up especially of Christ's 12 original disciples and Paul

b : the first prominent Christian missionary to a region or group

St. Boniface, the Apostle of Germany

2 a : a person who initiates a great moral reform or who first advocates an important belief or system

b : an ardent supporter : adherent

apostles of high technology

3 : the highest ecclesiastical official in some church organizations

4 : one of a Mormon administrative council of 12 men

—

apostleship

play \-ˌship\ noun

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Examples of apostle in a Sentence

a fervent apostle of universal health care

Recent Examples of apostle from the Web

The apostles — literally, those who are sent forth — went forth.

— nicholas frankovich, National Review, "All Americans Are a Little Italian, Christians Are Spiritually Jewish," 21 Sep. 2017
These men were modernist apostles who lived their own teachings, though here, again, the show’s adverse audiovisuals get in the way.

— jason farago, New York Times, "These Obsessive Men of MoMA Furnished Your Modernist Home," 7 Sep. 2017
Mollinger’s chapel is purportedly home to 22 splinters of the True Cross (on which Jesus was crucified), a scrap from the Virgin Mary’s veil, and bones from all 12 of Jesus’s apostles.

— joni sternbach, Smithsonian, "A Pittsburgh Church Holds the Greatest Collection of Relics Outside of the Vatican," 29 July 2017
Last year, an apostle, one of the most senior leaders in Mormonism, came to a taping.

— bradley olson, WSJ, "A Comedy Show Thrives by Avoiding Vulgarities—Such as the Word ‘Gosh’," 18 Oct. 2017
The series evokes the iconography of the Last Supper, during which Jesus, surrounded by his apostles, blessed the group’s bread and wine.

— brigit katz, Smithsonian, "Restoration Uncovers Four Figures Hidden in 17th-Century Painting," 12 Oct. 2017
Right now, Islam Karimov is one of its apostles in west Asia.

— charles p. pierce, Esquire, "The Problem with the New American Exceptionalism," 24 Oct. 2012
World, take note On his numerous foreign tours, Mr Xi presents himself as an apostle of peace and friendship, a voice of reason in a confused and troubled world.

— The Economist, "The world’s most powerful manXi Jinping has more clout than Donald Trump. The world should be wary," 14 Oct. 2017
In the New Testament, missionaries Aquila and Priscilla, friends of the apostle Paul, opened their home in Ephesus to followers of the Corinthian church.

— kristin e. holmes, Philly.com, "From backyard baptism to potluck Bible study, religion starts at home," 5 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'apostle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of apostle

Middle English, from Anglo-French & Old English; Anglo-French apostle & Old English apostol, both from Late Latin apostolus, from Greek apostolos, from apostellein to send away, from apo- + stellein to send

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year