# missionary

/ˈmɪʃəˌnɛɹi/ (US) · /mˈɪʃənəɹi/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/missionary
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. religious messenger

noun · CEFR B2

a person who travels to a different place or country to teach their religion to others.

For teachers: a person sent by a church or religious organisation into an area to spread its faith or provide social services.

- The missionary spent five years in the village building a school and teaching.
- The missionary's journals provide a detailed, if biased, account of the indigenous customs and languages encountered during the nineteenth-century expedition.

### 3. relating to a mission

adjective · CEFR B2

connected to the work of a religious mission.

For teachers: pertaining to or characteristic of a religious mission or those sent to perform it.

- She felt a strong missionary calling to help people in developing countries.
- The organisation's missionary zeal was often at odds with the secular goals of the local government.

## Examples

- The missionary spent five years teaching English in a small village.
- After completing her medical training, she joined a group of missionaries to provide healthcare in remote areas of the Amazon.
- Historical accounts of the region often highlight the tension between the missionaries' genuine desire to provide education and the colonial structures that facilitated their arrival.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.