as in greedy
having or marked by an eager and often selfish desire especially for material possessions
they were a mercenary couple, who defined themselves not by what they were but by what they owned
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mercenary
The conference — which draws child-abuse pediatricians, social workers, police officers and prosecutors — featured multiple presentations that cast doctors who testify for the defense as both ill informed and mercenary.
—
Kirsten Potter Krish Seenivasan David Mason, New York Times, 29 Dec. 2024
Statues honoring the late Wagner leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and top commander, Dmitry Utkin, were unveiled in CAR’s capital, Bangui, in December, a Telegram channel linked to the mercenary group reported.
—Nimi Princewill, CNN, 18 Jan. 2025
This includes the aimless storyline of Jun-ho and the mercenary team sailing around trying to find the game island now that Gi-hun’s tracker died.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes, 28 Dec. 2024
Some carried the black flag of the mercenary Wagner Group, notorious for its brutality in Ukraine and Africa.
—Anna Nemtsova, The Atlantic, 27 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for mercenary
Kirsten Potter Krish Seenivasan David Mason, New York Times, 29 Dec. 2024
Statues honoring the late Wagner leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and top commander, Dmitry Utkin, were unveiled in CAR’s capital, Bangui, in December, a Telegram channel linked to the mercenary group reported.
—Nimi Princewill, CNN, 18 Jan. 2025
This includes the aimless storyline of Jun-ho and the mercenary team sailing around trying to find the game island now that Gi-hun’s tracker died.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes, 28 Dec. 2024
Some carried the black flag of the mercenary Wagner Group, notorious for its brutality in Ukraine and Africa.
—Anna Nemtsova, The Atlantic, 27 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for mercenary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mercenary
Adjective
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When Sue becomes greedy with her time, exceeding seven days on the outside, Elisabeth suffers the consequences, and things take a dark and twisted turn.—
Samantha Stutsman,
People.com,
3 Mar. 2025
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Forget the greedy streamers: leave the job of filmmaking to people who care, to people like Corbet and Eisenberg, Fargeat and Zilbalodis.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
TIME,
3 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Despite the grim proceedings and grubby environment, the spatial arrangement of the image brings to mind a theatre balcony packed with eager punters ready to consume their money’s worth of entertainment.—
Naomi Fry,
The New Yorker,
22 Feb. 2025
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The obvious concern is that such a move could result in a loss of business, as there are always plenty of young publicists who are struggling to build their brands and eager to add a famous name to their client list without being too picky about contract terms.—
James Hibberd,
The Hollywood Reporter,
21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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This nation state, my home, is built on a quagmire of lies sold to the young as truths; sold to the insecure as truths; sold by the avaricious, the power-hungry, the conceited, the overwhelmingly white and male.—
Christine Winter,
Artforum,
1 Mar. 2025
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Pearce plays Van Buren as hungry and avaricious even in his kinder moments, a man of immense wealth whose primary desire is to own more and more.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
10 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Wiseman’s documentaries won’t ever earn blockbuster money or inspire franchises, the mark of success in the film world, and there’s no merch to purchase or brand sponsorship tickling the acquisitive part of your brain.—
Alissa Wilkinson,
New York Times,
8 Feb. 2025
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Meanwhile, Federation rivals ITV Studios and Fremantle are both rumored to be on the block, while Banijay remains acquisitive and newer players like North Road are part of this evolving conversation.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
29 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mercenary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mercenary. Accessed 8 Mar. 2025.
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