emissaries

plural of emissary
1
2
as in spies
a person who tries secretly to obtain information for one country in the territory of another usually unfriendly country the embassy's staff likely contains at least one emissary who reports to the home country's chief of intelligence

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of emissaries See pictures from the funeral below, along with a list of the foreign emissaries who attended. — Stefania Conrieri, Vanity Fair, 9 Sep. 2026 According to the news release, the school is also expanding its participation in the Shinshinim program—two new young emissaries from Israel will join the school for a year before their army service. — Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Aug. 2026 Sick of It All were NYHC’s most welcoming emissaries, and their mouthpiece was Lou Koller, whose death was announced Friday. — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 25 July 2026 The president’s top-two emissaries also happen to be the highest-profile potential candidates to succeed him. — Vivian Salama, The Atlantic, 27 June 2026 In 2021, Biden emissaries turned to the Roman Catholic Church for help, former Biden-era officials told USA TODAY. — Rick Jervis, USA Today, 13 May 2026 Expect emissaries from the ever-changing world of media. — Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 10 Apr. 2026 The overconfidence of the pro-Trump push in country music pre- and postelection is backfiring on many of its most enthusiastic emissaries. — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 8 Apr. 2026 The ruling marks a notable victory for emissaries of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, who have often been met with legal challenges when establishing centers. — Grace Gilson, Sun Sentinel, 7 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for emissaries
Noun
  • Make Retention Everyone’s Job, Starting With Operations​ Retention improves the moment the people inside operations start seeing themselves as retention and brand ambassadors.
    — Sena Kwawu, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 2026
  • With its golf ambassadors, Peter Millar still tends to focus on promoting its golfwear — with a few exceptions, such as an event in the Hamptons last year with Cameron Young where the PGA Tour pro showed up dressed in the brand’s lifestyle product.
    — Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 24 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Oasis featured for the first time in a Saturday Night Live UK cold open over the weekend, with the Gallagher brothers revealing themselves as Russian spies after almost convincing Prime Minister Andy Burnham to join them.
    — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 28 Sep. 2026
  • The ruling leaves one of the country’s top tech firms branded with the kind of label once reserved for foreign companies suspected of helping spies.
    — Ian Duncan, Washington Post, 25 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Unlike most Western democracies in which citizens abroad can mail in a ballot, Israel doesn’t allow absentee voting; only diplomats and official envoys can vote from outside the country.
    — Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Iroquois envoys regularly visited colonists, both to size up their ambitious rivals and to give advice on how to survive on an American continent where Native American culture dominated.
    — Scott Baldauf, Christian Science Monitor, 17 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Pursuing Leamas and Doris are Josef Fiedler and Hans-Dieter Mundt, two Stasi operatives whose ferocious desire to shut down the intelligence leak is matched only by their internal rivalry and an iron will to outmatch each other.
    — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Pursuing Leamas and Doris are Josef Fiedler (Brühl) and Hans-Dieter Mundt (Kammerer), two Stasi operatives whose ferocious desire to shut down the intelligence leak is matched only by their internal rivalry and an iron will to outmatch each other.
    — Alex Ritman, Variety, 28 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Attempts by The Associated Press to reach the other men or their representatives have been unsuccessful.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 2 Oct. 2026
  • How the system would work The initial phase of contract talks still would have union and county representatives seeking to hammer out a mutually beneficial deal, with a presumption that both sides would negotiate in good faith.
    — Jon Regardie, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Cseh, the archive's director, said successor governments to dictatorships rarely disclose the names of previous agents and informants, let alone records as detailed as those Hungary is preparing to release.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Others called for a transparent investigation into the Police Department’s relationship with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
    — Sam Charles, Chicago Tribune, 29 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • As part of the consolidation, Local 884 members will become Local 44 members and Local 44 will add studio teacher representation to its executive board and its delegates.
    — Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2026
  • On Thursday, dozens of delegates left the assembly hall as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke.
    — Joshua McElwee, Arkansas Online, 26 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • He could be seen sitting between China’s two vice ministers of foreign affairs, according to official footage, although state media did not identify him despite his prominent visibility.
    — Sylvie Zhuang, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Wafula said the role of pastoral ministers is especially important in the modern world, where political frictions often threaten peace in the community.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 26 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Emissaries.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/emissaries. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

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