mercenary

[ mur-suh-ner-ee ]

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 mer·ce·nar·ies.

1. a professional soldier hired to serve in a foreign army.
2. any hireling.

mercenary

/ ˈmɜːsɪnərɪ; -sɪnrɪ /

adjective

1. influenced by greed or desire for gain
2. of or relating to a mercenary or mercenaries

noun

1. a man hired to fight for a foreign army, etc
2. rare.
   any person who works solely for pay

Derived Forms

• ˈmercenarily, adverb
• ˈmercenariness, noun

Other Words From

• mer·ce·nar·i·ly [mur-s, uh, -, nair, -, uh, -lee, mur, -s, uh, -ner-], adverb
• merce·nari·ness noun
• non·mercen·ary adjective noun plural nonmercenaries
• unmer·ce·nari·ly adverb
• un·merce·nari·ness noun
• un·merce·nary adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of mercenary¹

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”; merchant ) + -ārius -ary

Word History and Origins

Origin of mercenary¹

C16: from Latin mercēnārius, from mercēs wages

Example Sentences

The BBC estimates that the Wagner mercenary group recruited more than 48,000 prisoners to fight in Ukraine.

From BBC

She’s too cautious, too poll-driven, too mercenary.

From Slate

Piotr Kucharski, 49, from The Glebe, Watford, wore combat clothing and badges with insignia of the Russian mercenary group to the historical event in Stonham Aspal, Suffolk.

From BBC

The organisation was founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the mercenary leader who headed the Wagner Group until he launched a rebellion against Moscow and died in a plane crash.

From BBC

Russia is reportedly paying them $2,000 a month for their mercenary services—a princely sum for North Koreans—but these salaries will likely be confiscated by the Pyongyang government.

From Slate

Related Words

• warrior