mercenary

[ mur-suh-ner-ee ]

adjective

1. working or acting merely for money or other reward; venal.

   Synonyms: covetous, avaricious, acquisitive, grasping

   Antonyms: unselfish, idealistic, altruistic

2. hired to serve in a foreign army, guerrilla organization, etc.

noun

, plural mer·ce·nar·ies.

1. a professional soldier hired to serve in a foreign army.
2. any hireling.

mercenary

/ -sɪnrɪ; ˈmɜːsɪnərɪ /

adjective

1. influenced by greed or desire for gain
2. of or relating to a mercenary or mercenaries

noun

1. a man hired to fight for a foreign army, etc
2. rare.
   any person who works solely for pay

Derived Forms

• ˈmercenariness, noun
• ˈmercenarily, adverb

Other Words From

• mer·ce·nar·i·ly [mur-s, uh, -, nair, -, uh, -lee, mur, -s, uh, -ner-], adverb
• merce·nari·ness noun
• non·mercen·ary adjective noun plural nonmercenaries
• unmer·ce·nari·ly adverb
• un·merce·nari·ness noun
• un·merce·nary adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of mercenary¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English mercenarie, from Latin mercēnnārius “working for pay, hired worker, mercenary,” perhaps from earlier mercēd(i)nārius (unrecorded), from mercēdin- (unrecorded), variant stem of mercēs “payment, wage” (akin to merx “goods”; merchant ) + -ārius -ary

Word History and Origins

Origin of mercenary¹

C16: from Latin mercēnārius, from mercēs wages

Example Sentences

Her portrayal as a battle-hardened mercenary was met with positive reviews, with many lauding her on-screen performance as an inspiration for young women.

From Washington Post

Zambernardi also controlled a team of mercenaries he called Rudos—“tough guys”—from Mexico’s corrupt and violent Federal Judicial Police.

From MIT Technology Review

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have outsourced their fighting in Yemen and Libya to brutal mercenaries of the Darfur civil war.

From Ozy

Some of these mercenaries were basically employed knights, who lacked fiefs, and thus were paid salaries by their overlords.

From Realm of History

His second-in-command was the marechal, who was responsible for paying the mercenaries, organizing the fighting divisions and playing his supervisory role in regards to the discipline and equipment of the army.

From Realm of History

As a former agent himself, Horrigan hopes to disabuse renters of the notion that brokers are mercenary con artists.

From The Daily Beast

“I did not have enough money to bribe the judge, so I decided to become a mercenary,” Mozhayev told a local reporter.

From The Daily Beast

The scene ends with a Street Fighter-like battle between Captain America and a mercenary.

From The Daily Beast

By mid-to-late evening, there was overwhelming evidence that Russia was using a mix of mercenary and conscript forces.

From The Daily Beast

A dreamy, blue-eyed rebel is approached by a mercenary wearing a scary mask.

From The Daily Beast

Above all, he was amazed to hear me talk of a mercenary standing army in the midst of peace and among a free people.

From Project Gutenberg

If all the world did not wag his way, so much the worse for cold-blooded mercenary superfluous beings.

From Project Gutenberg

But this pious reverence gave place to a more mercenary spirit, and the trade in relics became a traffic of infamy and disgrace.

From Project Gutenberg

It is perhaps something of a surprise to find him a mercenary in seventeenth-century Holland; but the old touch is there.

From Project Gutenberg

The first were large bands of discharged mercenary soldiers who pillaged the country.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• warrior