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.
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as in apostolic
relating to missionaries or their work
The church organizes missionary trips to a variety of countries.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of missionary
Michael Barnes, Austin American Statesman, 2 July 2025
Their lands were open to missionaries bearing gifts: salvation and literacy, culture and knowledge of the art of government.
—Bernd Roeck
june 16, Literary Hub, 16 June 2025
Edward Keegan, Chicago Tribune, 18 May 2025
Along with the trickling river and a dam that dates to the early Spanish missionary days, the landscape includes 65 miles of trails on more than 8,000 acres of rugged mountains, hills and valleys.
—Christopher Reynolds, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for missionary
Noun
How faith played out in a clash of societies
Protestant missionaries had long been attached to the Haudenosaunee.
—Michael Barnes, Austin American Statesman, 2 July 2025
Their lands were open to missionaries bearing gifts: salvation and literacy, culture and knowledge of the art of government.
—Bernd Roeck
june 16, Literary Hub, 16 June 2025
Adjective
Might being raised amid this architectural austerity have inspired the young Rev. Robert Prevost to seek out missionary locales such as Peru for his ministry?
—Edward Keegan, Chicago Tribune, 18 May 2025
Along with the trickling river and a dam that dates to the early Spanish missionary days, the landscape includes 65 miles of trails on more than 8,000 acres of rugged mountains, hills and valleys.
—Christopher Reynolds, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for missionary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for missionary
Noun
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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
-
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
-
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
Noun
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The victim was a 20-year-old American soldier stationed in West Germany, Edward Pimental, for whom the group set a murderous honeytrap.—
Katja Hoyer,
semafor.com,
19 July 2025
-
The disarmament ceremony signaled an end to the armed conflict between the PKK and Turkey, one that has killed around 40,000 militants, soldiers, and civilians since 1984.—
Ragip Soylu,
Time,
18 July 2025
Adjective
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Also, Shamblin Lara came under fire in 2000 within conventional evangelical circles for promoting heretical views about the Trinity.—
Liam Adams,
The Tennessean,
22 July 2025
-
Huckabee, an evangelical Christian who is normally strongly supportive of Israel, condemned the attack.—
WAFAA SHURAFA,
Arkansas Online,
20 July 2025
Noun
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And, over time, fewer new European priests arrived in Kongo, making translation less necessary.—
Livia Gershon,
JSTOR Daily,
12 July 2025
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One particular enemy of Gauguin’s was Bishop Martin, a Catholic priest on Hiva Oa who did his best to stomp out local custom, forbidding tattooing, Polynesian dancing, and the customary practice of polyandry.—
Alexandra Schwartz,
New Yorker,
11 July 2025
Noun
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Eric-the-junkie had intoned to his even-then-passé parents, old-schoolers bent on building systems that would stick, that the monks were celebrating the ephemeral beauty of physical existence.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 July 2025
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Last month, in a rare meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the Tibetan monk reaffirmed his allegiance to the rule of the Communist Party and pledged to make his religion more Chinese – a tenet of Xi’s policy on religion.—
Simone McCarthy,
CNN Money,
3 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Missionary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/missionary. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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