apostle

noun

apos·​tle ə-ˈpä-səl 

1

: one sent on a mission: such as

a

: one of an authoritative New Testament group sent out to preach the gospel and made up especially of Christ's 12 original disciples and Paul

b

: the first prominent Christian missionary to a region or group

St. Boniface, the Apostle of Germany

2

a

: a person who initiates a great moral reform or who first advocates an important belief or system

b

: an ardent supporter : adherent

apostles of high technology

3

: the highest ecclesiastical official in some church organizations

4

: one of a Mormon administrative council of 12 men

apostleship

ə-ˈpä-səl-ˌship 

noun

Synonyms

• advocate
• advocator
• backer
• booster
• champion
• espouser
• exponent
• expounder
• friend
• gospeler
• gospeller
• herald
• hierophant
• high priest
• paladin
• promoter
• proponent
• protagonist
• supporter
• true believer
• tub-thumper
• white knight

Examples of apostle in a Sentence

a fervent apostle of universal health care

Recent Examples on the Web

So just how does an under 30 bro become an apostle of small business networking? Larsen grew up in Tacoma, Washington, and studied entrepreneurship at Boise State. —Brandon Kochkodin, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2025

Peter, though revered as an apostle worthy of veneration, is also portrayed in the Gospels as prone to mistakes, often foolish, and sometimes outright contradictory to God’s will. —Timothy Nerozzi, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 28 Feb. 2025

One of the most memorable examples is Caravaggio’s painting from 1601, in the National Gallery in London, showing an astonished apostle wearing a scallop shell on his vest. —Virginia Raguin, The Conversation, 21 Jan. 2025

The dish is sometimes made with whole chickens broken into 12 pieces—purportedly to honor Jesus’s apostles—though many restaurants opt for the convenience of drumsticks. —Lenore T. Adkins, Bon Appétit, 14 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English apostel, apostle, postel, in part going back to Old English apostol, in part borrowed from Anglo-French apostle, apostoile, appostre, both borrowed from Late Latin apostolus "ambassador, Apostle (of the New Testament)," borrowed from Greek apóstolos "messenger, envoy, (Septuagint) messenger from God, (New Testament) Apostle," noun derivative of apostéllein "to send off or away, dispatch," from apo- apo- + stéllein "to set in order, equip, prepare for a journey, send," going back to Indo-European *stel- "put up, prepare," whence also Old Church Slavic posteljǫ, postĭlati "to spread out," Albanian shtiell "wind up, reel up, collect" (from *stel-n-) and perhaps Old Prussian stallīt "to stand," Armenian stełcanem, (aorist) stełci "prepare, create" (with -c- of uncertain origin)

Note: Along with Attic-Ionic stéllein, Greek forms in Lesbian dialect and forms attested by the grammarian Hesychius that appear to be Aeolic show a variant spel-/spol-. This has led to the conjecture of a distinct root *sk^wel- "set in order" alongside *stel- "send"; however, the evidence for *sk^wel- outside Greek is exiguous. Germanic *stal(l)jan- "to fix, set, place" (whence Old English stellan, Old Saxon stellian, Old High German stellen) could be an outcome of *stel-, though it is usually taken as denominal from *stalla- "stand, stall, stable" (see stall entry 1).

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for apostle

• docile
• fossil
• jostle
• colossal
• hydrocele
• nitrosyl
• subbasal
• hypoglossal
• nannofossil

Kids Definition

apostle

noun

apos·​tle ə-ˈpäs-əl 

1

a

: one of a group made up of Christ's twelve original disciples and Paul

b

: the first Christian missionary to a region

2

a

: the person who first puts forward an important belief or starts a great reform

b

: a loyal supporter : adherent

apostleship

-ˌship 

noun

Etymology

Middle English apostle "teacher sent out by Christ," derived from Greek apostolos "one sent on a mission"