Did you know?
An emissary is often a person who is sent somewhere in order to act as a representative. The key in that sentence is sent; emissary derives from Latin emissus, the past participle of the verb emittere, meaning "to send out." By the early 17th century, it was a commonly seen and heard word. An earlier common emittere descendant is emit. In addition, emittere itself comes from Latin mittere ("to send"), which is an ancestor of many English words, including admit, commit, mission, omit, permit, premise, promise, and submit.
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Like missionaries, emissaries are sent on missions. However, emissaries are more likely to be representing governments, political leaders, and nonreligious institutions, and an emissary's mission is usually to negotiate or to gather information. So a president may send a trusted emissary to a war-torn region to discuss peace terms. A company's CEO may send an emissary to check out another company that they may be thinking of buying. And a politician may send out an emissary to persuade a wealthy individual to become a supporter.
Examples of emissary in a Sentence
Tessa Solomon,
ARTnews.com,
29 June 2026
The president’s top-two emissaries also happen to be the highest-profile potential candidates to succeed him.
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Vivian Salama,
The Atlantic,
27 June 2026
For years, the spotlight in wellness has lingered on probiotics, those living bacterial emissaries in yogurt and supplements, and prebiotics, the nourishing fibers that sustain them.
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Tanya Akim,
Forbes.com,
5 June 2026
The water being is an emissary of a much larger civilization, and the team’s survival ultimately depends on their halting interactions with it.
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Jenny Odell,
Longreads,
2 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for emissary
Cite this Entry
“Emissary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emissary. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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emissary
noun
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emissary
noun
