missionary

  • 1Missionary — Mis sion*ary, n.; pl. {Missionaries}. [Cf. F. missionnaire. See {Mission}, n.] One who is sent on a mission; especially, one sent to propagate religion. Swift. [1913 Webster] {Missionary apostolic}, a Roman Catholic missionary sent by commission… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 2Missionary — Mis sion*a*ry, a. Of or pertaining to missions; as, a missionary meeting; a missionary fund. [1913 Webster] …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 3missionary — ► NOUN (pl. missionaries) ▪ a person sent on a religious mission. ► ADJECTIVE ▪ of or characteristic of a missionary or religious mission …

    English terms dictionary

  • 4missionary — [n] person who aids, does religious work apostle, clergy, clergyperson, converter, evangelist, herald, messenger, minister, missioner, pastor, preacher, promoter, propagandist, proselytizer, revivalist, teacher; concepts 361,416 …

    New thesaurus

  • 5missionary — [mish′ənərmish′əner΄ē] adj. [ModL (Ec) missionarius] of or characteristic of missions or missionaries, esp. religious ones n. pl. missionaries a person sent on a mission, esp. on a religious mission: also missioner [mish′ənər] …

    English World dictionary

  • 6Missionary — For other uses, see Missionary (disambiguation). A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development.[1][2]… …

    Wikipedia

  • 7missionary — mis|sion|a|ry1 [ˈmıʃənəri US neri] n plural missionaries someone who has been sent to a foreign country to teach people about Christianity and persuade them to become Christians missionary 2 missionary2 adj [only before noun] 1.) relating to the… …

    Dictionary of contemporary English

  • 8missionary — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ foreign ▪ pioneer ▪ evangelical, medical ▪ Catholic, Protestant, etc …

    Collocations dictionary

  • 9missionary — {{11}}missionary (adj.) sent on a mission, 1640s, from Mod.L. missionarius pertaining to a mission, from L. missionem (see MISSION (Cf. mission)). {{12}}missionary (n.) 1650s, from MISSIONARY (Cf. missionary) (adj.). Missionary position attested… …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 10missionary — [[t]mɪ̱ʃənri, neri[/t]] missionaries 1) N COUNT A missionary is a Christian who has been sent to a foreign country to teach people about Christianity. 2) ADJ: ADJ n Missionary is used to describe the activities of missionaries. You should be in… …

    English dictionary