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Synonyms

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.


noun

plural

mercenaries
  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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

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

  2. rare any person who works solely for pay

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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”; 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."

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing mercenary

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.

According to several sources, he is a former leading mercenary.

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026

A 26-year-old basketball mercenary at his fifth school, Baker-Mazara is the average age of an NBA player.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 7, 2026

The men were aged 34 and 40, the source said, adding one of them is a former police officer who had worked for Wagner mercenary group.

From Barron's • Feb. 23, 2026

Those glimpses of humanity had a way of rendering the mercenary atmosphere in the tent city incredibly disorienting—almost unreal.

From Slate • Feb. 23, 2026

Since you cannot be unarmed, you will have to turn to mercenary soldiers, who have the characteristics explained above.

From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli