missionary

1 of 2

noun

mis·​sion·​ary ˈmi-shə-ˌner-ē 

plural missionaries

: a person undertaking a mission and especially a religious mission

Several years ago, when I was working as a reporter based in Haiti, I came upon a group of older Christian missionaries in the mountains above Port-au-Prince … They were there to build a school alongside a Methodist church.

—Jacob Kushner

Hawaiian Pidgin English developed during the 1800s and early 1900s, when immigrant laborers from China, Portugal, and the Philippines arrived to work in the plantations; American missionaries also came around that time.

—Alia Wong

missionary

2 of 2

adjective

1

: relating to, engaged in, or devoted to missions

2

: characteristic of a missionary

Did you know?

Beginning around 1540, an order of Catholic priests known as the Jesuits began to send its members to many parts of the world to convert peoples who believed in other gods to Christianity. Wherever they went, the Catholic missionaries built central buildings for their religious work, and the buildings themselves became known as missions; many 17th-century missions in the American West and Southwest are now preserved as museums. Their foes, the Protestants, soon began sending out their own missionaries, and today Protestant missionaries are probably far more numerous.

Examples of missionary in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

These missionaries are a destabilizing influence in a territory dominated by another version of Christianity, established and spread by the colonizing Belgians, that emphasizes the supremacy of a white Jesus. —Tope Folarin, The Atlantic, 21 Nov. 2024

But Native numbers began to decline with the arrival of Spanish missionaries, who brought diseases for which Natives had no immunity, including smallpox, malaria and diphtheria. —Calmatters, The Mercury News, 11 Oct. 2024

Adjective

Swiss zoologists, botanists, engineers, priests and nuns from missionary societies, merchants and rentier businesspeople, warlords and mercenaries ventured out to participate in plunder and looting as adjuncts or sidekicks of the stronger world powers and financiers. —Percy Zvomuya, Artforum, 1 Nov. 2024

The viral illness takes its name from the Nigerian town where two missionary nurses died from it, according to the U.K. Health Security Agency. —Eduardo Cuevas, USA TODAY, 29 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1623, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1644, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing missionary

• missionary position
• missionary zeal

Kids Definition

missionary

1 of 2 adjective

mis·​sion·​ary ˈmish-ə-ˌner-ē 

1

: relating to, engaged in, or devoted to missions

2

: characteristic of a missionary : zealous

missionary

2 of 2 noun

plural missionaries

: one sent to spread a religious faith among unbelievers or to engage in charitable work with religious support