missionary

1 of 2

noun

mis·​sion·​ary ˈmi-shə-ˌner-ē How to pronounce missionary (audio)
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

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
The 69-year-old Augustinian missionary smiled and waved from the back of the truck to people waving U.S., Peruvian and other national flags, and stopped to bless some babies in the crowd. Nicole Winfield, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2025 Peruvians remember the young American priest who became pope Prevost, who lived in Peru as a missionary in the 1980s and the 1990s, would have heard about these accounts while serving as Bishop of Chiclayo starting in 2014, especially following the publication of Ugaz and Salinas’ bombshell book. Stefano Pozzebon, CNN Money, 18 May 2025
Adjective
In this respect, the Pope is hardly an exception, as many Chicago pastors have been sent to do missionary work in Latin America, according to the historian Deborah Kanter. Geraldo Cadava, New Yorker, 22 May 2025 As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Worsley did his youth missionary work in Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil. Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 15 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for missionary

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1623, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1644, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of missionary was in 1623

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Missionary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/missionary. Accessed 28 May. 2025.

Kids Definition

missionary

1 of 2 adjective
mis·​sion·​ary ˈmish-ə-ˌner-ē How to pronounce missionary (audio)
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

More from Merriam-Webster on missionary

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!