mercenary
Americanadjective
-
working or acting merely for money or other reward; venal.
- Synonyms:
- covetous, avaricious, acquisitive, grasping
- Antonyms:
- unselfish, idealistic, altruistic
-
hired to serve in a foreign army, guerrilla organization, etc.
noun
plural
mercenaries-
a professional soldier hired to serve in a foreign army.
-
any hireling.
adjective
-
influenced by greed or desire for gain
-
of or relating to a mercenary or mercenaries
noun
-
a man hired to fight for a foreign army, etc
-
rare any person who works solely for pay
Other Word Forms
- mercenarily adverb
- mercenariness noun
- nonmercenary adjective
- unmercenarily adverb
- unmercenariness noun
- unmercenary adjective
Etymology
Origin of mercenary
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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He was by no means sure that what he called the “timid & mercenary” North could restore the Union, but he was determined to do all that he could for that cause.
The messages also warned against co-operating with what it described as "terrorist mercenaries" - an act it said would constitute treason.
From BBC
It has hired Russian mercenaries to tackle the insecurity, though large parts of the country remain outside government control.
From BBC
Touadéra campaigned on his security record in the chronically unstable nation after rebels seized power in 2013, a crisis that led the government to enlist support from Russian mercenaries and Rwandan soldiers.
From BBC
Security forces were omnipresent in the capital's streets, with a significant deployment of police, army, and Wagner Group mercenaries.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
