mercenary

1 of 2

noun

mer·​ce·​nary ˈmər-sə-ˌner-ē 

-ne-rē

plural mercenaries

: one that serves merely for wages

especially : a soldier hired into foreign service

mercenaries who guaranteed the success of the rebellion

—B. F. Reilly

mercenary

2 of 2

adjective

1

: serving merely for pay or sordid advantage : venal

also : greedy

2

: hired for service in the army of a foreign country

mercenarily

ˌmər-sə-ˈner-ə-lē 

-ˈne-rə-

adverb

mercenariness

ˈmər-sə-ˌner-ē-nəs 

-ˌne-rē-

noun

Synonyms

Adjective

• acquisitive
• avaricious
• avid
• coveting
• covetous
• grabby
• grasping
• greedy
• moneygrubbing
• rapacious

Examples of mercenary in a Sentence

Noun

an army of foreign mercenaries

Adjective

His motives in choosing a career were purely mercenary.

they were a mercenary couple, who defined themselves not by what they were but by what they owned

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

This role playing game casts players as overloaded but undertrained mercenaries accepting deadly jobs across the galaxy. —Rob Wieland, Forbes, 16 Aug. 2024

There’s a long history of American mercenaries mucking around south of the border, certainly in the 1980s under Reagan, and of course going back to the Bay of Pigs under Kennedy. —Matthew Carey, Deadline, 7 Aug. 2024

Adjective

That take would have seen the return of Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley, Michael Biehn’s Hicks, an older Newt against new Xenomorphs in a jungle setting with mercenary factions and vicious new synthetic androids. —Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 14 Aug. 2024

Ever since Deadpool’s first appearance, fans have embraced the mercenary supervillain turned witty and unfiltered antihero, played by Ryan Reynolds in the movie adaptations of the comic books. —Issy Ronald, CNN, 9 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Adjective

Middle English, from Latin mercenarius, irregular from merced-, merces wages — more at mercy

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1532, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

mercenary

1 of 2 noun

mer·​ce·​nary ˈmərs-ᵊn-ˌer-ē 

plural mercenaries

: one that serves only for wages

especially : a soldier hired by a foreign country to fight in its army

mercenary

2 of 2 adjective

1

: serving only for the pay or reward

mercenary armies

mercenary soldier

2

: greedy for money

mercenary business owners