Synonyms of missionary

missionary 1 of 2

noun

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

• missioner
• soldier
• priest
• monk
• apostle
• minister
• preacher
• religious
• evangelist
• bishop
• revivalist
• deacon
• clergyman
• friar
• scholar
• pastor
• reverend
• monastic
• clerical
• ecclesiastic
• mendicant
• padre
• proselytizer
• cleric
• student
• churchman
• deaconess
• chaplain
• prelate
• diocesan
• vicar
• divine
• pope
• archbishop
• priestess
• curé
• presbyter
• dean
• parson
• rector
• dominie
• abbot
• clerk
• father
• abbé
• oblate
• confessor
• clergyperson
• shepherd
• monsignor
• advocate
• faithful
• curate
• supporter
• partisan
• protégé
• disciple
• clergywoman
• loyalist
• Holy Joe
• archpriest
• high priest
• devotee
• high priestess
• champion
• worshipper
• zealot
• enthusiast
• fan
• adherent
• sectarian
• ideologist
• sky pilot
• acolyte
• admirer
• idolater
• follower
• ideologue
• pupil
• votary
• cultist
• backer
• convert
• liege man
• epigone
• votarist

Dissimilar Words

• renegade
• traitor
• defector
• apostate
• leader
• turncoat
• secular
• layman
• layperson
• lector
• lay reader
• coryphaeus

missionary

2 of 2

adjective

as in apostolic

relating to missionaries or their work

The church organizes missionary trips to a variety of countries.

Related Words

• apostolic
• evangelical
• papal
• religious
• pastoral
• episcopal
• diocesan
• ecclesiastical
• ecclesiastic
• pontifical
• patriarchal
• diaconal
• canonical
• churchly
• sacramental
• divine
• monastic
• mendicant
• conventual
• holy
• ministerial
• clerical
• rabbinic
• sacerdotal
• priestly
• monachal
• caliphal
• clerkly

Dissimilar Words

• secular
• lay
• temporal
• nonclerical

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of missionary

Noun

His parents, Cynthia and Warren Bonta, were missionaries and social justice activists who were drawn to the state’s signature civil rights struggle of that era. — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 2 Sep. 2026

The German missionary who had settled in the highlands had started a Lutheran school, and Gajdusek asked him to find a good candidate among the students. — Rachel Aviv, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026

Adjective

The story follows him through his missionary work, traveling with his wife Maria and good friend, Wang Laijun. — Tanya Fedak, Variety, 20 July 2026

The discovery of Iron Ore in Minnesota sprung mining towns during his missionary efforts in the region. — Vivian Wilson, Twin Cities, 8 July 2026