as in missioners
a person who is sent especially to a foreign country to do religious work (such as converting people to the religion or ministering to the sick)
The missionaries sent to the island were ultimately unsuccessful in converting the native residents.
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Recent Examples of missionaries
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
The missionaries had hoped to bring Christianity to the Waorani, which was an isolated tribe that fiercely defended their territory at that time.
—Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com, 8 Jan. 2026
In the Netflix documentary, Evil Influencer, one of her fellow missionaries described Hildebrandt as a former beauty queen and basketball athlete who successfully convinced several people to convert to the LDS faith.
—Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 31 Dec. 2025
So thoroughly did European missionaries stigmatize Inuit beliefs that, even now, the more pious members of an older generation consider an appreciation of Indigenous spirits to be a sign of something demonic afoot.
—Dawn Chan, New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2025
Relief supplies intended to aid Jamaicans devastated by Hurricane Melissa may have contributed to the cause of a Coral Springs plane crash that killed the two humanitarian missionaries organizing the goodwill effort, a new preliminary report revealed Wednesday.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 4 Dec. 2025
The Christian missionaries were returning from a visit to an orphanage when kidnappers forced their bus to stop.
—CBS News, 3 Dec. 2025
For decades, the public face of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormon church, included the perkiness of the Osmond family and missionaries on bicycles, portraying an unwavering, wholesome image.
—H. Alan Scott, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2025
Many of our Bay Area parks engage with history, culture and the people who’ve lived here, including Native Americans, Spanish missionaries, American settlers, Civil War soldiers, immigrants, Rosie the Riveters and famous writers, musicians, civil rights leaders and federal prisoners.
—Martha Ross, Mercury News, 22 Nov. 2025
Nathan Hodge, CNN Money, 10 Jan. 2026
The missionaries had hoped to bring Christianity to the Waorani, which was an isolated tribe that fiercely defended their territory at that time.
—Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com, 8 Jan. 2026
In the Netflix documentary, Evil Influencer, one of her fellow missionaries described Hildebrandt as a former beauty queen and basketball athlete who successfully convinced several people to convert to the LDS faith.
—Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 31 Dec. 2025
So thoroughly did European missionaries stigmatize Inuit beliefs that, even now, the more pious members of an older generation consider an appreciation of Indigenous spirits to be a sign of something demonic afoot.
—Dawn Chan, New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2025
Relief supplies intended to aid Jamaicans devastated by Hurricane Melissa may have contributed to the cause of a Coral Springs plane crash that killed the two humanitarian missionaries organizing the goodwill effort, a new preliminary report revealed Wednesday.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 4 Dec. 2025
The Christian missionaries were returning from a visit to an orphanage when kidnappers forced their bus to stop.
—CBS News, 3 Dec. 2025
For decades, the public face of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormon church, included the perkiness of the Osmond family and missionaries on bicycles, portraying an unwavering, wholesome image.
—H. Alan Scott, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2025
Many of our Bay Area parks engage with history, culture and the people who’ve lived here, including Native Americans, Spanish missionaries, American settlers, Civil War soldiers, immigrants, Rosie the Riveters and famous writers, musicians, civil rights leaders and federal prisoners.
—Martha Ross, Mercury News, 22 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for missionaries
Noun
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Among the deceased were colonels, lieutenants, majors and captains and some reserve soldiers, ranging in age from 26 to 60, The Associated Press reported.—
Louis Casiano,
FOXNews.com,
7 Jan. 2026
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And those soldiers will come from Connecticut and the other 49 states and the territories and the district.—
Christopher Keating,
Hartford Courant,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
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His remarks come after reports that priests and pastoral workers have been unable to bring communion to those detained.—
Christopher Lamb,
CNN Money,
8 Nov. 2025
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Often affiliated with the state and temples, these people were typically royalty, high-level bureaucrats and priests.—
Serdar Yalçin,
The Conversation,
3 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Missionaries.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/missionaries. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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