mercenary

UK: /ˈmɜː^rsɪnəri/ US: /ˈmɝsəˌnɛri/ ,(mûr′sə ner′ē)

Inflections of 'mercenary' (n): npl: mercenaries

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

mer•ce•nar•y /ˈmɜrsəˌnɛri/   adj., n., pl. -nar•ies. 
adj. 

1. working for money and not for ideals:
   She'd become mercenary and no longer cared about the underprivileged.
2. hired to serve in a foreign army:
   mercenary forces.

n. [countable]

3. Military a professional soldier hired to serve in a foreign army:
   The mercenaries decided to surrender.

See -merc-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

mer•ce•nar•y  (mûr′sə ner′ē), adj., n., pl. -nar•ies. 
adj. 

1. working or acting merely for money or other reward; venal.
2. hired to serve in a foreign army, guerrilla organization, etc.

n. 

3. Military a professional soldier hired to serve in a foreign army.
4. any hireling.

• Latin mercēnnārius working for pay, hired worker, mercenary, perh., representing earlier *mercēd(i)nārius, equivalent. to *mercēdin-, stem of *mercēdō, a by-form of mercēs, stem mercēd- payment, wage (akin to merx goods; compare merchant) + -ārius -ary
• Middle English mercenarie 1350–1400

mer•ce•nar•i•ly  (mûr′sə nâr′ə lē, mûr′sə ner′-), adv.  mer′ce•nar′i•ness, n. 
Synonyms

• 1. grasping, acquisitive, avaricious, covetous.

Antonyms

• 1. altruistic, idealistic, unselfish.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

mercenary / ˈmɜːsɪnərɪ -sɪnrɪ/ adjective

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

noun ( -naries)

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

Etymology: 16th Century: from Latin mercēnārius, from mercēs wages