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.
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in apostolic
relating to missionaries or their work
The church organizes missionary trips to a variety of countries.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of missionary
Emily Blackwood, People.com, 2 Mar. 2025
Instead of forcing women to accept their message, missionaries encouraged voluntary reform.
—Jenna Deep, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Mar. 2025
Ian Penman, Harper's Magazine, 19 Feb. 2025
Boehler told the outlet that Vieira was doing missionary work when he was detained by Tunisian authorities 13 months ago.
—Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 13 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for missionary
Noun
The couple are also missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
—Emily Blackwood, People.com, 2 Mar. 2025
Instead of forcing women to accept their message, missionaries encouraged voluntary reform.
—Jenna Deep, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Mar. 2025
Adjective
Dammers was born in 1955 in Tamil Nadu, where his father, Horace, served as a chaplain at a missionary school.
—Ian Penman, Harper's Magazine, 19 Feb. 2025
Boehler told the outlet that Vieira was doing missionary work when he was detained by Tunisian authorities 13 months ago.
—Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 13 Apr. 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
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But after the Mass ended, Francis appeared on the loggia balcony over the basilica entrance for more than 20 minutes and imparted the apostolic blessing in Latin.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
21 Apr. 2025
-
In the apostolic age, the first millennium of Christianity, when the Church did not yet have the backing of law and culture and strong institutionsChristianity spread rapidly across the ancient world.—
Austen Ivereigh,
Time,
21 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Just outside our car, soldiers beat down the door of a house and piled in.—
Antón Barba-Kay,
The Atlantic,
26 Apr. 2025
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Three Indian army officials said that Pakistani soldiers used small arms to fire at an Indian position in Kashmir late Thursday.—
Time,
Time,
25 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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In the United States, where various types of Protestantism used to be associated with elite culture, Catholicism has risen on the right, while various evangelical, and both Catholicism more tolerant nondenominational Christian churches, have grown, as opposed to more popular atheism or agnosticism.—
Christian Paz,
Vox,
25 Apr. 2025
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If his successor is chosen from the global South, his evangelical campaigns may continue.—
VICTOR GAETAN,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Francis rose through the ranks as a Jesuit priest in his home country of Argentina.—
Susan Miller,
USA Today,
22 Apr. 2025
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Following in the footsteps of his older brother Brian, Farrell entered the Legionaries of Christ congregation in 1966 and was ordained a priest in 1978 in Rome.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
22 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Pope Francis 'dedicated himself to the service of others,' Dalai Lama says After taking a trip to Thailand in 2019, Francis welcomed a delegation of about 100 Buddhist monks from the Wat Phra Cetuphon temple in Bangkok in 2024, the Vatican News reported.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA Today,
22 Apr. 2025
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Imagination was key to the films that Hess made after Napoleon Dynamite: the soulful Nacho Libre, in which Jack Black as a novice monk and Lucha Libre fan gave a fully rounded characterization, and the ingenious fantasy-fiction parody Gentlemen Broncos.—
Armond White,
National Review,
16 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Missionary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/missionary. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
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