mercenary
Meanings
Plural: mercenaries
Noun
- a person hired to fight for another country than their own
- One motivated by gain, especially monetary.
- A person employed to fight in an armed conflict who is not a member of the state or military group for which they are fighting and whose primary motivation is private gain.
- One hired to engage in a figurative battle, as a corporate takeover, a lawsuit, or a political campaign.
Adjective Satellite
- marked by materialism
- serving for wages in a foreign army
- "mercenary killers"
- profit oriented; ; - John Buchan
- "a mercenary enterprise"
Adj
- Motivated by personal gain.
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English mercenarye (“someone paid to work, hireling”), from Latin mercēnārius (“hired for money”), from mercēs (“reward, wages, price”).
Synonyms
adventurer, bravo, condottiere, filibuster, free companion, free-lance, freebooter, freelance, greedy, hired gun, hireling, hit man, materialistic, merc, mercantile, mercenary, moneymaking, private military contractor, sellsword, soldier of fortune, venal, worldly-minded
Scrabble Score: 16
mercenary is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordmercenary is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
mercenary is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary