mercenary

American  

[mur-suh-ner-ee] / ˈmɜr səˌnɛr i /

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.

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noun

• mercenaries
  plural

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

2. any hireling.

mercenary British  

/ ˈmɜːsɪnərɪ, -sɪnrɪ /

adjective

1. influenced by greed or desire for gain

2. of or relating to a mercenary or mercenaries

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noun

1. a man hired to fight for a foreign army, etc

2. rare any person who works solely for pay

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• mercenaries
  plural

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”; cf. merchant) + -ārius -ary

Explanation

You might not want to call a mercenary a "hireling" to his face, but a mercenary is, after all, a soldier who gets paid to fight where needed, sometimes taking a heroic stand and other times just wanting payment for fighting. The word mercenary comes from the Latin mercēnārius, "hireling," which defines someone who will do anything in exchange for money. In history, a mercenary was often a fighter who followed the next paycheck, but in recent decades it's also been used for fighters who pursue a good cause in areas where soldiers are in short supply. A synonym for mercenary is "soldier of fortune," and this phrase sometimes glorifies the mercenary, turning the meaning of "fortune" from "cash" to "luck in battle."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mercenary mercenaries

Characterizing the outrage that followed as a strategic error feels a little mercenary.

From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026

Cash in circulation jumped after President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilisation in September 2022 and during a brief mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group in June 2023.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

In a 2024 exposé on Bowlero’s rise, Amos Barshad introduced a now-familiar category of villain — the private-equity vulture — as more than the average mercenary buying up distressed properties and selling off their parts.

From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026

“I’d love to do the hometown team, but I’m a mercenary whistler,” Ullman said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026

Then she tried a child’s story, which she could easily have disposed of if she had not been mercenary enough to demand filthy lucre for it.

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

"We're not mercenaries," he said in a 2021 interview, describing himself as pursuing "a burlesque form of pacifism."

From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026

There’s the coalition warfare, the mercenaries and the overseas adventurism.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026

Still, May’s approach brought criticism that the Wolverines were simply “Rent-a-Team,” mercenaries from every corner of college basketball that had little to do with traditional methods or representing an institution.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026

In recent years, a United Nations peacekeeping mission, Rwandan troops and Russian mercenaries from the notorious Wagner group have helped to improve the Central African Republic's security situation.

From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026

The two mercenaries turned and raised eyebrows at each other.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

Related Words

• acquisitive
• selfish
• unscrupulous