mercenary
[ mur-suh-ner-ee ]
/ ˈmɜr səˌnɛr i /
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adjective
working or acting merely for money or other reward; venal.
hired to serve in a foreign army, guerrilla organization, etc.
noun, plural mer·ce·nar·ies.
a professional soldier hired to serve in a foreign army.
any hireling.
SYNONYMS FOR mercenary
ANTONYMS FOR mercenary
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Origin of mercenary
OTHER WORDS FROM mercenary
Words nearby mercenary
Mercator projection, Mercator sailing, Mercator track, Merced, Mercedes, mercenary, mercer, Mercer Island, mercerize, mercery, merch
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for mercenary
British Dictionary definitions for mercenary
mercenary
/ (ˈmɜːsɪnərɪ, -sɪnrɪ) /
adjective
influenced by greed or desire for gain
of or relating to a mercenary or mercenaries
noun plural -naries
a man hired to fight for a foreign army, etc
rare any person who works solely for pay
Derived forms of mercenary
mercenarily, adverbmercenariness, nounWord Origin for mercenary
C16: from Latin mercēnārius, from mercēs wages
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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