mercenary Hear it!

mercenary Definition

mer·ce·nary (mʉr′sə ner′ē)

adjective

  1. working or done for payment only; motivated by a desire for money or other gain; venal; greedy
  2. designating a soldier serving for pay in a foreign army; hired

Etymology: L mercenarius < merces, pay, wages, akin to merx: see market

noun pl. mercenaries -·nar′·ies

  1. a professional soldier hired to serve in a foreign army
  2. any person who will do anything for money; hireling

Related Forms:

mercenary Synonyms

mercenary

modif.

acquisitive, selfish, miserly; see greedy 1, stingy.

mercenary Synonyms

mercenary

n.

legionnaire, professional soldier, soldier of fortune; see soldier.

mercenary Usage Examples

Preposition: for

  • hire: Cloud Strife leads the life of a mercenary for hire.

Modifies a noun

  • motive: Who can say she has a mercenary motive in marrying him?
  • army: A rich country with a small navy and mercenary army could face down a larger, more warlike, but poorer country.
  • soldier: In Shigo, some of the pieces can even change sides, like mercenary soldiers in the age of the Samurai.
  • troop: Frequently the mercenary troops were actually raised from the very men who had bought themselves out of feudal service.
  • force: The invasion failed on a massive scale with the entire mercenary force captured or killed.
  • unit: These two types of mercenary units were in high demand for siege warfare, by both sides.

Modifying Another Word

  • very: Watling did not like him, calling him " a very mercenary, sordid person " .