missionary

American  

[mish-uh-ner-ee] / ˈmɪʃ əˌnɛr i /

noun

plural

missionaries

1. a person sent by a church into an area to carry on evangelism or other activities, as educational or hospital work.

   There are opportunities for student missionaries living abroad to work with people in need of aid, participate in building projects, and share the Gospel.

2. a person strongly in favor of a program, set of principles, etc., who attempts to persuade or convert others.

3. a person who is sent on a mission.

4. missionary position.

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adjective

1. pertaining to or connected with religious missions.

2. engaged in such a mission or devoted to work connected with missions.

3. reflecting or prompted by the desire to persuade or convert others.

   the missionary efforts of political fanatics.

4. characteristic of a missionary.

   missionary zeal.

5. relating to or noting the missionary position.

   Then it was up to the bedroom for some good, old-fashioned missionary sex.

missionary British  

/ ˈmɪʃənərɪ /

noun

1. a member of a religious mission

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adjective

1. of or relating to missionaries

   missionary work

2. resulting from a desire to convert people to one's own beliefs

   missionary zeal

Other Word Forms

• nonmissionary adjective

Etymology

Origin of missionary

First recorded in 1625–35; from New Latin missiōnārius; mission, -ary

Explanation

A missionary is someone who travels to a foreign country to perform charitable work and, most commonly, to try to convert people to their faith. Missionary can be a noun — the person who goes on a mission — or an adjective — the type of work done on such a trip. If your great-grandmother was a missionary for the Methodist church in Japan in the 1920s, her purpose there was to convince people to abandon their religion for Methodism. Presumably she did this missionary work because she thought it would save their souls.

Example Sentences

My grandpa retired at 70 after working as a missionary for most of his life and later at a national laboratory.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 24, 2026

He was a ghoulish host of a late-night television horror program in the 2005 vampire movie “The Roost,” then played a wagon-train missionary in the 2007 western “Seraphim Falls.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026

Liu said he saw himself as a "missionary" spreading cycle culture.

From Barron's • Feb. 16, 2026

Some are missionary groups such as United Bible Societies, whose primary activity globally is translating and distributing bibles, and Samaritan’s Purse, a U.S.-based evangelical group that provides medical care and other emergency services.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 8, 2026

The reason was this: The missionary school was pretty good—it got me started, gave me a good background—but when the time came to take the national high school examination, I didn’t get good grades.

From "Facing the Lion" by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton and Herman Viola

Related Words

• clergy
• evangelist
• messenger
• pastor
• preacher
• teacher