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
TIME, 25 Nov. 2024
Africa was mentioned frequently on TBN, but almost exclusively as a destination for white American missionaries.
—Tope Folarin, The Atlantic, 21 Nov. 2024
USA TODAY, 29 Oct. 2024
Her experience includes missionary work in Mozambique and serving as her order's superior from 2011 to 2023.
—Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 6 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for missionary
Noun
By the late 1870s, the federal government shifted its tactics from primarily outsourcing teaching Native people to missionaries, to running its own schools.
—Adjective
Republican Michele Morrow is a former missionary and homeschool curriculum developer and nurse who is running against Democrat Maurice (Mo) Green, a previous superintendent of Guilford County Schools and general counsel and deputy superintendent for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
—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.—
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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.—
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.—
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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.—
Noun
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The Army identified the soldiers killed in the crash as Staff Sgt.—
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The camera keeps tight on Dragan as the heavily armed soldiers approach the compartment containing him, the Muslim man and several other passengers.—
Adjective
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Judson University, a nonprofit evangelical Christian school founded as Judson College in 1963, is named after American Baptist missionary Adoniram Judson, who became the first Protestant missionary sent from North America to preach in Burma, the school’s website said.—
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The president received the backing of about eight out of 10 white evangelical Christian voters in the 2024 election, according to an AP VoteCast analysis.—
Noun
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Within the faith there’s no real hierarchy; there are no popes, priests or clergy.—
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In an interview with Vatican News, the Rev. Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest of the Church of the Holy Family, the only Roman Catholic church in Gaza, says Pope Francis has called from the hospital at 8 p.m. Gaza time every night.—
Noun
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He is called upon by a monk from a secretive temple to protect a powerful child from a corrupt master, forcing him to confront his inner demons.—
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Listen to this article San Diego FC coach Mikey Varas talks in calm and hushed tones, referencing Eastern philosophers ranging from the Dalai Lama to Vietnamese monk and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh.—
Cite this Entry
“Missionary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/missionary. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.
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