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

On top of this, "the RSF has from the start of the conflict, recruited a contingent of foreign mercenaries," said Thierry Vircoulon, an associate researcher at the French Institute of International Relations.

Read more on Barron's

Mr. Putin doesn’t pull the trigger on a national draft, which would save him billions he now spends on his mercenary army, because it might accelerate his own date with a lamppost.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Sudan's army has also accused it of providing weapons as well as mercenaries, including from Colombia, via neighbouring countries.

Read more on Barron's

Sudan's army accuses the United Arab Emirates of supporting the group with weapons and mercenaries sent via African nations.

Read more on BBC

Both have left since the junta took over, and the military government has hired Russian mercenaries to tackle the insecurity.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• acquisitive 
• selfish 
• unscrupulous