missionary

1 of 2

noun

mis·​sion·​ary ˈmi-shə-ˌner-ē 

plural missionaries

: a person undertaking a mission and especially a religious mission

Several years ago, when I was working as a reporter based in Haiti, I came upon a group of older Christian missionaries in the mountains above Port-au-Prince … They were there to build a school alongside a Methodist church.

—Jacob Kushner

Hawaiian Pidgin English developed during the 1800s and early 1900s, when immigrant laborers from China, Portugal, and the Philippines arrived to work in the plantations; American missionaries also came around that time.

—Alia Wong

missionary

2 of 2

adjective

1

: relating to, engaged in, or devoted to missions

2

: characteristic of a missionary

… I continue … revealing with missionary zeal the wonders of quilted art.

—Joan V. Parker

Did you know?

Beginning around 1540, an order of Catholic priests known as the Jesuits began to send its members to many parts of the world to convert peoples who believed in other gods to Christianity. Wherever they went, the Catholic missionaries built central buildings for their religious work, and the buildings themselves became known as missions; many 17th-century missions in the American West and Southwest are now preserved as museums. Their foes, the Protestants, soon began sending out their own missionaries, and today Protestant missionaries are probably far more numerous.

Examples of missionary in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

As a missionary, Helen likely taught the Bible to members of the Indigenous community, work that involved both the deliberate erasure of their traditions and a deep commitment to her church. —Deborah Treisman, New Yorker, 11 Jan. 2026

After World War I, the US Navy operated the Yangtze Patrol, a flotilla of gunboats that protected American interests – including missionaries and oil companies – inside China during a lengthy period of warlordism and instability. —Nathan Hodge, CNN Money, 10 Jan. 2026

Adjective

That means the consistory is likely to focus on how to make the church more missionary, and more responsive to the needs of the faithful. —Anna Matranga, CBS News, 8 Jan. 2026

Mame Hill was 24, pregnant with her second child, doing missionary work while living in Mexico City when her body abruptly stopped cooperating. —Lauryn Higgins, Flow Space, 6 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1623, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1644, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing missionary

• missionary position
• missionary zeal

Rhymes for missionary

• accessary
• adversary
• ancillary
• arbitrary
• aviary
• axillary
• beriberi
• breviary
• budgetary
• capillary
• catenary
• cautionary

Kids Definition

missionary

1 of 2 adjective

mis·​sion·​ary ˈmish-ə-ˌner-ē 

1

: relating to, engaged in, or devoted to missions

2

: characteristic of a missionary : zealous

missionary

2 of 2 noun

plural missionaries

: one sent to spread a religious faith among unbelievers or to engage in charitable work with religious support