missionary
noun
mis·sion·ary
| \ ˈmi-shə-ˌner-ē
\
\
plural missionaries
Definition of missionary
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a person undertaking a mission and especially a religious mission
missionaries who strove to convert natives to Christianity
missionary
adjectiveDefinition of missionary (Entry 2 of 2)
1
: relating to, engaged in, or devoted to missions
2
: characteristic of a missionary
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Examples of missionary in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
The missionaries knew the language, understood the culture, were familiar with the needs and conditions on the ground, and could therefore disseminate aid quickly and efficiently. — Heather D. Curtis, The Conversation, "How American Christian media promoted charity abroad," 3 Sep. 2019 Welch’s successor, Jeff Immelt, continued to preach the gospel of Six Sigma, but without the same missionary zeal of its early days. — Oliver Staley, Quartz at Work, "Whatever happened to Six Sigma?," 3 Sep. 2019 In 1819, one year before missionaries from the United States arrived in Hawai‘i, the kapu system was overthrown. — Jennifer Billock, Smithsonian, "Learn to Surf on the Break Where it All Began," 12 Aug. 2019 The missionaries who founded El Paso mixed their traditions with those of indigenous peoples, said Father Arturo J. Bañuelas, a lifelong resident who heads St. Mark’s. — Washington Post, "Many turn to El Paso’s Catholic traditions after massacre," 9 Aug. 2019 But the Mormon missionaries themselves are multidimensional human characters who are faithful, good-natured and driven to do their duty. — Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Review: ‘The Book of Mormon': Irreverent and profane, but still funny after all these years," 25 July 2019 The missionaries have spent the last three years traveling the world doing good deeds. — Joseph Gerth, The Courier-Journal, "'This speaks to my heart': Catholic priest gives money to laid-off Eastern Kentucky miners," 15 July 2019 The missionaries built churches and, soon, boarding schools. — Kyle Hopkins, ProPublica, "ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network," 16 May 2019 His missionaries run centers in 24 countries, including four in Mexico and one just across the Suchiate River in Tecún Umán, Guatemala. — Wendy Fry, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Padre Rigoni lectures at UCSD on history of migration," 30 July 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
But a missionary stint in Africa taught her to see that the world was vast and that people held various notions about how to live. — Ray Mark Rinaldi, The Know, "There’s a pop-up art museum downtown that literally lets you walk in another Denverite’s shoes," 27 Aug. 2019 Duke and his friends, who became known as the Beach Boys of Waikiki, brought surfing back to national and international attention as missionary influence in the islands faded. — Jennifer Billock, Smithsonian, "Learn to Surf on the Break Where it All Began," 12 Aug. 2019 William Eddy was a product of the missionary Brahmins of Beirut. — Darren Dochuk, The New Republic, "Men of God and the Genesis of the U.S.-Saudi Relationship," 17 July 2019 Screengrab from Twitter Lily Harrison planned to go to Ethiopia in at the end of June to perform missionary work at a refugee camp, The Riverside Press-Enterprise reported. — Don Sweeney, sacbee, "Teen DUI driver kills 15-year-old in head-on collision, then falls 200 feet, cops say," 4 June 2019 Eric Blievernicht, the missionary group’s operations manager, said in an email Saturday that the three carried Gospel tracts and MP3 players with Scripture and other Christian material to share with villagers. — Grant Peck, The Seattle Times, "Evangelical group says 3 US volunteers detained in Laos," 13 Apr. 2019 Violent Time Members of a Troy church who were a part of a missionary group have returned home safely after being stranded in Haiti, according to a Facebook post from the church. — Deasia Paige, Detroit Free Press, "Stranded Troy Kensington Church mission members back from Haiti," 11 July 2018 In 1884, a former monk left an archabbey in Germany’s upper Danube valley to start an independent congregation that combined the Benedictine way of life with missionary work. — Emanuella Grinberg, Smithsonian, "When a Bavarian Monastery Provided a Home to Jewish Refugees," 11 July 2018 Throughout her long and full life, Elise was active in church, always involved in missionary endeavors, serving refreshments, and providing hospitality to itinerant preachers and foreign missionaries on furlough. — Sun-Sentinel.com, "Deaths in South Florida: 6/27," 27 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'missionary.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for missionary
missionary
noun
English Language Learners Definition of missionary
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a person who is sent to a foreign country to do religious work (such as to convince people to join a religion or to help people who are sick, poor, etc.)
missionary
adjectiveEnglish Language Learners Definition of missionary (Entry 2 of 2)
: of or relating to missionaries
: very enthusiastic and eager about doing a job or supporting a cause
See the full definition for missionary in the English Language Learners Dictionary
missionary
noun
mis·sion·ary
| \ ˈmi-shə-ˌner-ē
\
\
plural missionaries
Kids Definition of missionary
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a person sent to a place to spread a religious faith
missionary
adjectiveKids Definition of missionary (Entry 2 of 2)
: relating to efforts to gain new religious followers or to people sent to spread a religion
a missionary society
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