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
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of missionary
Jonathan Bullington, Chicago Tribune, 5 Jan. 2025
But the two young missionaries are then forced to prove their faith by becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse with Reed.
—Lynette Rice, Deadline, 15 Dec. 2024
Laura Begley Bloom, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024
Mission to the World, or the PCA’s missionary agency that Young and her husband served with, received a similar request.
—Liam Adams, The Tennessean, 18 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for missionary 
Noun
Around that same time, Priscilla Baltimore and Bishop William Paul Quinn, an African Methodist Episcopal missionary, established the town’s AME church, which along with a Baptist church and a number of homes, served as stops in the Underground Railroad.
—Jonathan Bullington, Chicago Tribune, 5 Jan. 2025
But the two young missionaries are then forced to prove their faith by becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse with Reed.
—Lynette Rice, Deadline, 15 Dec. 2024
Adjective
Originally from Eleuthera, Taylor felt a spiritual calling to return to the island after years of missionary work and life in Nassau.
—Laura Begley Bloom, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024
Mission to the World, or the PCA’s missionary agency that Young and her husband served with, received a similar request.
—Liam Adams, The Tennessean, 18 June 2024
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
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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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In 2018, on her 110th birthday, Lucas, who is also the oldest living nun in the world, was honored with an apostolic blessing from Pope Francis, per Guinness World Records.—
Ingrid Vasquez,
People.com,
7 Jan. 2025
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Pope Francis's stop in East Timor is part of his ongoing apostolic journey across four countries between Sept. 2 and Sept. 13.—
Timothy H.J. Nerozzi Fox News,
Fox News,
10 Sep. 2024
Noun
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In the years after the Civil War, white politicians in Southern states created multiple holidays to honor Confederate leaders and dead Confederate soldiers.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
20 Jan. 2025
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In total, militants killed 64 people and 22 soldiers, and kidnapped 19 people from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on Oct. 7.—
Melanie Lidman,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Some suggested on social media that the way Trump handled his swearing-in, so to speak, was a slap in the face to evangelical Christians who have so staunchly supported Trump.—
Josh Meyer,
USA TODAY,
20 Jan. 2025
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He was followed by a bar joke’s worth of benedictions—from a rabbi, a Catholic priest, and a Black evangelical pastor.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
20 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Despite the fall, Francis held five meetings on Thursday according to the Vatican, including with Alvaro Lario, the President of the International Fund of Agricultural Development, and priests from an Argentine college based in Rome.—
Christopher Lamb,
CNN,
16 Jan. 2025
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Visitation for a retired priest of the Chicago Archdiocese who died last week will take place at Kurtz Memorial Chapel on Friday, according to the archdiocese.—
Olivia Stevens,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The Uttar Pradesh state, headed by Adityanath — a powerful Hindu monk and a popular hard-line Hindu politician in Modi’s party — has allocated more than $765 million for this year’s event.—
Sheikh Saaliq,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Jan. 2025
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You’re meant to start along the edges and proceed clockwise, passing the pictures of monks, deities, or patrons in their neat squares.—
Jackson Arn,
The New Yorker,
2 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near missionary
Cite this Entry
“Missionary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/missionary. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
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