Definition of EMISSARY

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Like missionaries, emissaries are sent on missions. However, emissaries are more likely to be representing governments, political leaders, and nonreligious institutions, and an emissary's mission is usually to negotiate or to gather information. So a president may send a trusted emissary to a war-torn region to discuss peace terms. A company's CEO may send an emissary to check out another company that they may be thinking of buying. And a politician may send out an emissary to persuade a wealthy individual to become a supporter.

Examples of emissary in a Sentence

She acted as the president's personal emissary to the union leaders. most of the industrialized nations of the world sent emissaries to the conference on global warming

Recent Examples on the Web

But the administration would typically send an emissary or two — Joe Biden one year, Valerie Jarrett another. — Matthew Yglesias, Vox, "Netroots Nation, explained," 2 Aug. 2018 The countries have meanwhile sent emissaries abroad to brief foreign leaders and speak to journalists, as well as spend millions on Washington influence firms and advertising. — Washington Post, "AP News Guide: What to know about the year-old Qatar crisis," 5 June 2018 The show went so far as to report the Fire sent emissaries to Madrid to close the sale. — José Luis Sánchez Pando, chicagotribune.com, "Chicago Fire could be nearing acquisition of Spanish striker Torres," 6 May 2018 Who Was There The Gulf state emissary was George Nader, the Lebanese-American businessman whose ties to Trumpworld have already fallen under the scrutiny of the Mueller investigation. — Chas Danner, Daily Intelligencer, "Beyond Russia: Understanding the New Trump Campaign Collusion Story," 20 May 2018 The Jazz Ambassadors This new documentary recalls when Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, with the support of President Eisenhower, enlisted some of the top talents in American jazz to tour the world as U.S. emissaries, starting in the mid-1950s. — Ed Stockly, latimes.com, "Friday's TV highlights: 'The Jazz Ambassadors' on PBS," 4 May 2018 Freeing prisoners from North Korea, in recent years, has largely required a high-level emissary of sorts. — Z. Byron Wolf, CNN, "The recent history of American political prisoners released from Iran and North Korea," 9 May 2018 But moving into the White House would confer on him the official role of chief emissary of Trump's economic policies. — Josh Boak, chicagotribune.com, "Trump picks camera-proven Kudlow as top economic aide," 14 Mar. 2018 The vice president has been one of the administration’s most visible emissaries during the shutdown fight, meeting with lawmakers, sitting for interviews and leading staff-level talks. — Laurie Kellman, The Seattle Times, "Pence tested in role of messenger for Trump policies," 13 Jan. 2019

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