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

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

"They didn't stamp our passports," a mercenary told the rights group, describing his journey through the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi.

From BBC ● May 26, 2026

Russia's mercenary Wagner Group, which had been fighting with Malian forces against jihadists since 2021, ended its involvement in June 2025.

From Barron's ● Apr. 25, 2026

Now I know Mother will shake her head, and the girls say, “Oh, the mercenary little wretch!”

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

The mercenaries are now closely integrated into the country’s national army and local militias, exploiting smuggling routes and diverting trade flows to maintain control over key resources, including the Oubangui River.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

The corsairs, sometimes defining themselves as a naval mujahideen, also acted as mercenaries or proxies.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 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

Players can amass huge virtual fortunes by mining raw materials or fighting as mercenaries, but they aren't allowed to convert in-game wealth back into real-world cash.

From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026

I was riding with one of the mercenaries, absently peeling the bark from a willow switch.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

Related Words

• acquisitive
• selfish
• unscrupulous