envoy

noun en·voy \ ˈen-ˌvȯi , ˈän- \

Updated on: 14 Apr 2018

Definition of envoy

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

See envoy defined for English-language learners

See envoy defined for kids

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 of envoy from the Web

Dozens of countries including Britain and the United States have expelled over 150 Russian diplomats because of the incident, while Russia has retaliated by expelling foreign envoys.

— jane onyanga-omara, USA TODAY, "Yulia Skripal, daughter of Russian former spy, discharged from Salisbury hospital after poisoning," 10 Apr. 2018
During a tense United Nations Security Council meeting on Monday, Russia's UN envoy asked the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to fly to Syria immediately and begin investigations in Douma on Tuesday morning.

— CNN, "US allies warn of action on suspected Syria chemical attack," 10 Apr. 2018
Bourita said he was encouraged by steps taken by the secretary-general’s new personal envoy for Western Sahara, former German President Horst Koeler, to relaunch political negotiations with the Polisario Front.

— Washington Post, "Morocco warns it may act against Polisario in Western Sahara," 4 Apr. 2018
Later, a hit on Snopes told me that this same group hacked Twitter accounts of Greta Van Susteren, Eric Bolling, the president of the World Economic Forum, and an Indian envoy to the UN.

— virginia heffernan, WIRED, "Beware the Academic Vanity Honeypot," 30 Mar. 2018
Russia had vowed retaliation after the U.S., NATO and 25 allies including Germany and France expelled almost 130 Russian diplomats this week in support of the U.K., which kicked out 23 Kremlin envoys on March 14.

— henry meyer, Time, "Russia Expels 60 U.S. Diplomats in Tit-for-Tat Retaliation," 29 Mar. 2018
The Koreas agreed to a summit when Moon's envoys visited Kim in Pyongyang earlier this month.

— Fox News, "Rival Koreas begin high-level talks meant to set up summit," 28 Mar. 2018
Experienced envoys have retired or resigned in droves.

— The Economist, "The president has had enough of being challenged over foreign policy," 15 Mar. 2018
Hoping to build on the goodwill established during the Winter Olympic Games, South Korean president Moon Jae-in sent diplomatic envoys to Pyongyang for talks with the Kim regime this week.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "North Korea Is Ready to Discuss Forfeiting Nukes, South Says," 6 Mar. 2018

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