missionary

Name: missionary, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ˈmɪʃ.əˌnɛɹ.ɪ/

//ˈmɪʃ.əˌnɛɹ.ɪ// noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“missionary” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,212. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,212
frequency rank, English: 4,057
“M” headwords: 13
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One who is sent on a mission.

Corpus desk

Index EN-missionary · missionary · English

missionary · rank #9,212 · 13 variants · 0 confusables

FREQ-COMMON #9,212
LEN-MEGA 10 letters
VOW-5 5 vowels
CONFUS-0 No pairs
VAR-HIGH 13 variants
BOOK-MID 4,057
PHOTO-FINISH mick

Nearest frequency peer: mick (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

manners

90,792
merry

90,791
mick

90,790
missionary

90,789
nationalism

90,788
naughty

90,787

What this shows “missionary” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Key facts for missionary
Property	Value
Headword	missionary
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/ˈmɪʃ.əˌnɛɹ.ɪ/
Letters	10
Frequency rank	#9,212
Misspellings tracked	13
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “missionary”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).missionarylands here:

#9,212

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “mick” (#9,211), “nationalism” (#9,213), “merry” (#9,210). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “missionary” is #9,212. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around missionary (IPA /ˈmɪʃ.əˌnɛɹ.ɪ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #9,212 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for missionary, with forms such as "imssionary", "misionary", and "misisonary". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From mission + -ary. The correct English form is missionary, spelled M-I-S-S-I-O-N-A-R-Y.

Definition

1
One who is sent on a mission.
2
A person who travels attempting to spread a religion or creed (Particularly used in context of Christianity).
3
A religious messenger.
4
The missionary position for sexual intercourse.
5
Sexual intercourse in the missionary position.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how missionary appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

Near-synonym: emissary
A missionary was just trying to convert me to his religion.

Etymology

From mission + -ary.

This word in other languages

misionero(Español)missionnaire(Français)Missionar(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

imssionary
misionary
misisonary
missinoary
missioanry
missionarry
missionaryy
missionayr
missionnary
missionray
missoinary
mmissionary
msisionary

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of missionary - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

Edit distance from "missionary"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "missionary"?

"missionary" is spelled M-I-S-S-I-O-N-A-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmɪʃ.əˌnɛɹ.ɪ/.

What does "missionary" mean?

As a noun, "missionary" means: One who is sent on a mission.

What are common misspellings of "missionary"?

Common misspellings include "imssionary", "misionary", "misisonary", "missinoary", "missioanry". The correct spelling is "missionary".

How do you pronounce "missionary"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "missionary" is /ˈmɪʃ.əˌnɛɹ.ɪ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What is the origin of the word "missionary"?

From mission + -ary. See the full etymology section above for more details.

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "missionary", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

Katherine13 variants entertain13 variants discourse13 variants crushing13 variants