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

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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

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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

Xenophon became in essence a mercenary lord, somewhat like the condottieri of Renaissance Italy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

Platner also faced questions from fellow progressives regarding the time he spent employed as a security contractor associated with the mercenary force Blackwater.

From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026

Most fighters in the Africa Corps formerly belonged to the Russian mercenary Wagner group, which was active in the continent, hired by local governments to help curb insurgencies.

From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2026

I may be mercenary, but I hate poverty, and don’t mean to bear it a minute longer than I can help.

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

The Saudis countered with an air campaign and ground force composed of Yemeni pro-government paramilitary factions, Saudi and Emirati troops and mercenaries.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

"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

A professional army would also be less expensive than using mercenaries.

From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

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Related Words

• acquisitive
• selfish
• unscrupulous

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