as in missioner
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.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
as in apostolic
relating to missionaries or their work
The church organizes missionary trips to a variety of countries.
Related Words
Dissimilar 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 missionary
Natalie Davies, Freep.com, 12 Oct. 2025
Global growth Joseph Smith founded The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in upstate New York in 1830 and immediately sent missionaries to preach along the frontier.
—Brittany Romanello, The Conversation, 10 Oct. 2025
Brittany Romanello, The Conversation, 10 Oct. 2025
The book is narrated by a young journalist, interviewing an elderly woman about her life as a missionary teacher in 1930s Jaffa.
—Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for missionary
Noun
Shane Lichtenberg, Armstrong's son-in-law, met Charne after coming to Armstrong's door as a missionary.
—Natalie Davies, Freep.com, 12 Oct. 2025
Global growth Joseph Smith founded The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in upstate New York in 1830 and immediately sent missionaries to preach along the frontier.
—Brittany Romanello, The Conversation, 10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
Shortly after World War II, church leaders overhauled their missionary approach to increase the number of international missions.
—Brittany Romanello, The Conversation, 10 Oct. 2025
The book is narrated by a young journalist, interviewing an elderly woman about her life as a missionary teacher in 1930s Jaffa.
—Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for missionary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for missionary
Noun
-
Kelley Hudlow, missioner for clergy formation for the diocese, told NBC affiliate WVTM of Birmingham soon after the shooting that church leaders were trying to learn more.—
Phil Helsel,
NBC News,
17 June 2022
-
Eby will continue to serve as outreach missioner at the Church of the Nativity and as priest-in-charge at St. Timothy’s Church in Athens.—
al,
al,
1 Dec. 2020
Adjective
-
View Comments The Friday event, which took place inside the Vatican’s apostolic palace, included a roundtable discussion on AI ethics and governance.—
Clare Duffy,
CNN Money,
20 June 2025
-
The Friday event, which took place inside the Vatican’s apostolic palace, included a roundtable discussion on AI ethics and governance.—
CNN.com,
Mercury News,
20 June 2025
Noun
-
Earlier this year, the Israeli military retrieved the body of another soldier who was killed in the 2014 war.—
Stephen Sorace,
FOXNews.com,
9 Nov. 2025
-
Just off the Gregory House, a trail leads to the Hammock Landing Battery, where Confederate soldiers guarded the river from attack, protecting their manufacturing hub in Columbus, Georgia.—
Carrie Honaker,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
The famous evangelical pastor Billy Graham visited Israel in the 1960s.—
Geoff Brumfiel,
NPR,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Then came the funeral of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, which WSJ columnist Peggy Noonan correctly called the largest evangelical event in America since the heyday of evangelist Billy Graham — but this time, one featuring top Republican brass.—
Abby McCloskey,
Mercury News,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
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
-
But Wolfgang Rothe — a priest and scholar of canon law — says this charge is often pitted at critics within the church.—
Esme Nicholson,
NPR,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
He had been dressed as a monk for Halloween weekend, with a hooded robe, but Rachel Kelly said he was found shirtless in his sweatpants.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Writing about 200 years after Fibonacci, the monk Luca Pacioli (who taught mathematics to both Leonardo da Vinci and Albrecht Dürer) described the ‘Italian’ approach to bookkeeping.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
5 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Missionary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/missionary. Accessed 21 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share