envoy

noun

en·​voy ˈen-ˌvȯi  ˈän- 

1

a

: a minister plenipotentiary accredited to a foreign government who ranks between an ambassador and a minister resident

called also envoy extraordinary

b

: a person delegated to represent one government in its dealings with another

2

: messenger, representative

Synonyms of envoy

• ambassador
• delegate
• representative
• minister

Examples of envoy in a Sentence

the president sent the secretary of state as his personal envoy to gain the support of the country's allies

one of the hostage takers was chosen as the group's envoy for all dealings with the authorities

Recent Examples on the Web

But Nigeria does not currently have an ambassador or high profile special envoy to have helped get ahead of this. —Semafor Events, semafor.com, 3 Nov. 2025

Lutfey Siddiqi, the special envoy for international affairs in Bangladesh’s interim government, also said at the Fortune Global Forum that his country’s young demographic is key to economic progress, making an oil analogy to explain how Bangladesh should leverage that advantage. —Phil Wahba, Fortune, 26 Oct. 2025

In the 2000s, Andrew was repeatedly accused of misusing his position as a British trade envoy for his personal advantage. —Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 25 Oct. 2025

Kirill Dmitriev, an investment envoy for Russian President Vladimir Putin, suggested in posts on Musk's social media platform X that the project would be partly funded by Moscow. —Lora Kolodny, CNBC, 17 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

French envoyé, from past participle of envoyer to send, from Old French enveier

First Known Use

1653, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

envoy

noun

en·​voy ˈen-ˌvȯi  ˈän- 

1

a

: a diplomatic representative who ranks between an ambassador and a minister

b

: a representative sent by one government to another

ambassadors and other envoys

2

: representative entry 2 sense 2, messenger