Meanings
nounemissary (plural emissaries)
plural emissaries
- An agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else.
The small group around Ch’en Tu-hsiu that had remained at headquarters hastily sent an emissary—Chang Kuo-t’ao—to Nanch’ang. Though Chang set out immediately, he did not reach Nanch’ang until July 31, the day before the rising.
1958, Conrad Brandt, “A Defeat out of Victory and a Devil out of the Machine”, in Stalin's Failure in China, 1924–1927, number 31, Cambridge, Mass.: Russian Research Center, Harvard University Press, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 143 - An underground channel by which the water of a lake escapes.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSuch an agent spreading a gospel.
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More synonyms by meaning
nounsomeone sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
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Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinemissarius“agent, scout, spy”
- Frenchémissaire
- Englishemissary
From French émissaire, from Latin emissarius (“agent, scout, spy”).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic مَبْعُوث
- مَبْعُوث (mabʕūṯ)an agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
Bulgarian емиса́р, емиса́рка
- емиса́р (emisár)an agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
- емиса́рка (emisárka)an agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
- пра́теник (prátenik)an agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
- пра́теница (prátenica)an agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
- пра́теничка (prátenička)an agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
Chinese Mandarin 使者, 伻
- 使者 (shǐzhě)an agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
- 伻 (bēng)an agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
Czech emisar, emisař
- emisaran agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
- emisařan agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
Danish udsending, sendebud
- udsendingan agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
- sendebudan agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
Dutch afgezant
- afgezantan agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
Esperanto sendito
- senditoan agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
Finnish lähettiläs
- lähettiläsan agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
French émissaire
- émissairean agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
German Emissär, Emissärin
- Emissäran agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
- Emissärinan agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
- Abgesandteran agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
Greek εκφορητικός πόρος, αγγελιοφόρος
- εκφορητικός πόρος (ekforitikós póros)a venous channel in the skull
- αγγελιοφόρος (angeliofóros)an agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
- απεσταλμένος (apestalménos)an agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
Japanese 使者
- 使者 (shisha)an agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
Korean 사자
- 사자 (saja)an agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
Latin emissarius
- emissariusan agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
Norwegian Bokmål sendebud
- sendebudan agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
Polish emisariusz, emisariuszka
- emisariuszan agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
- emisariuszkaan agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
Portuguese emissário
- emissárioan agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
Russian эмисса́р, посла́нник
- эмисса́р (emissár)an agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
- посла́нник (poslánnik)an agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
- посла́нница (poslánnica)an agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
Slovak emisár
- emisáran agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
Spanish emisario, emisaria
- emisarioan agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
- emisariaan agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
Swedish sändebud, emissarie
- sändebudan agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
- emissariean agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
Ukrainian еміса́р, еміса́рка
- еміса́р (emisár)an agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
- еміса́рка (emisárka)an agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
Vietnamese sứ giả
- sứ giảan agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of someone else
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
emissary. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/emissary
MLA
“emissary.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/emissary. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “emissary,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/emissary.
Source: emissary on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.