missionary
/ˈmɪʃ.əˌnɛɹ.ɪ/
"missionary" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“missionary” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #9,212 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #9,212
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - One who is sent on a mission.
| 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) |
Where “missionary” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for missionary is 10 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈmɪʃ.əˌnɛɹ.ɪ/. Corpus data places it at rank #9,212 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
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
- 1One who is sent on a mission.
- 2A person who travels attempting to spread a religion or creed (Particularly used in context of Christianity).
- 3A religious messenger.
- 4The missionary position for sexual intercourse.
- 5Sexual intercourse in the missionary position.
Etymology
From mission + -ary.
This word in other languages
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.
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
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Using “missionary”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-I-S-S-I-O-N-A-R-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈmɪʃ.əˌnɛɹ.ɪ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.