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
B. F. Reilly 2
: hired for service in the army of a foreign country
Synonyms
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 WebDaniel Schlozman & Sam Rosenfeld / Made By History, TIME, 10 June 2024
Fueling the chaos, Sudan has become a playground for foreign players like the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Russia and its Wagner mercenaries, and even a few Ukrainian special forces.
—Declan Walsh Ivor Prickett, New York Times, 5 June 2024
Anastacia Galouchka, Washington Post, 16 June 2024
The push to recruit inmates into the military appears at first glance to parallel a campaign of prison recruitment by Russia’s mercenary company Wagner early in the war, and continued by the Ministry of Defense since last year.
—Daria Tarasova-Markina, CNN, 13 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for mercenary 
Noun
As the right has moved from Tea Party to MAGA in recent years, its longstanding mercenary, win-at-all-costs approach has shifted in disturbing new directions, dismissing not just the authority of political parties, but the very project of building electoral majorities themselves.
—Daniel Schlozman & Sam Rosenfeld / Made By History, TIME, 10 June 2024
Fueling the chaos, Sudan has become a playground for foreign players like the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Russia and its Wagner mercenaries, and even a few Ukrainian special forces.
—Declan Walsh Ivor Prickett, New York Times, 5 June 2024
Adjective
Unlike in Russia, where the recruitment of criminals was pioneered by the Wagner mercenary group, Ukraine’s convicts will be recruited only into the official military and will receive all the same benefits as regular soldiers.
—Anastacia Galouchka, Washington Post, 16 June 2024
The push to recruit inmates into the military appears at first glance to parallel a campaign of prison recruitment by Russia’s mercenary company Wagner early in the war, and continued by the Ministry of Defense since last year.
—Daria Tarasova-Markina, CNN, 13 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for mercenary
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mercenary.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Mercenary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mercenary. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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 adjective1
: serving only for the pay or reward
mercenary armies
mercenary soldier
2
: greedy for money
mercenary business owners
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