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

mercenaries 

1. a professional soldier hired to serve in a foreign army.

2. any hireling.

mercenary

/ ˈmɜːsɪnərɪ, -sɪnrɪ /

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

Other Word Forms

• mercenarily adverb
• mercenariness noun
• nonmercenary adjective
• unmercenarily adverb
• unmercenariness noun
• unmercenary 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

And high-ranking officers, American mercenaries and enlisted personnel in the army have launched everything from a seaborne invasion to barracks uprisings.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“They hired professional mercenary killers,” he said from Biarritz, in southwestern France, adding that the Russian state has been trying to kill him for years.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Or maybe she has more in common with Usha Vance, who mercenarily shelved her ambitions and her dignity to back her husband.

Read more on Salon

Moscow depends on North Korean soldiers, Arab mercenaries and Iranian technology—not exactly the quality of a global superpower.

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He expelled French troops, and brought in mercenaries from Russia's Wagner group, which is under Moscow's defence ministry.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• acquisitive 
• selfish 
• unscrupulous