Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

missionary

/ˈmɪʃ.əˌnɛɹ.ɪ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.83 in modern English

Syllables: mis-sion-ary
IPA: /ˈmɪʃ.əˌnɛɹ.ɪ/

15

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

4

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

One who is sent on a mission.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A person who travels attempting to spread a religion or creed (Particularly used in context of Christianity).

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A religious messenger.

Countable; Derogatory; Uncountable

noun

The missionary position for sexual intercourse.

Uncountable

noun

Sexual intercourse in the missionary position.

Slang; Uncountable

adj

Relating to a (religious) mission.

Example Sentences

"Near-synonym: emissary"
"A missionary was just trying to convert me to his religion."
"My boyfriend only cums during missionary."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *mey-? Proto-Indo-European *meyth₂- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *méyth₂eti Proto-Italic *meitō Old Latin mītō Latin mittō Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin missiōlbor. English mission Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusder. Middle English -arie English -ary English missionary From mission + -ary.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈmɪʃ.əˌnɛɹ.ɪ/
British English: /ˈmɪʃ.ən(ə).ɹɪ/

Usage

Subject

Wiktionary places this term in Religion.

Inflected Forms

missionaries (plural)

Derived Forms

antimissionary missionarily missionarying missionaryism missionaryize missionarylike missionaryship nonmissionary premissionary unmissionary

Phrases

missionaries and cannibals problem missionary bishop missionary-linguist missionary linguist missionary position missionary rector missionary zeal

Frequently Paired Words

emissary emission

Synonyms

emissary missional missioner

Rhymes With

expeditionary

Questions

How do you pronounce missionary?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈmɪʃ.əˌnɛɹ.ɪ/.
What does missionary mean?: One who is sent on a mission.
Where does missionary come from?: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *mey-? Proto-Indo-European *meyth₂- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *méyth₂eti Proto-Italic *meitō Old Latin mītō Latin mittō Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin missiōlbor. English mission Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusder. Middle English -arie English -ary English missionary From mission + -ary.

How to pronounce missionary

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “missionary”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈmɪʃ.əˌnɛɹ.ɪ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “missionary” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.