mercenary

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mercenary

/ˈmɜː.sə.nə.ɹi/ Australia, UK
/ˈmɜː.sən.ɹi/ Australia, UK
/ˈmɝ.sə.ˌnɛɹ.i/ Canada, US

Where it comes from

From Middle English mercenarye (“someone paid to work, hireling”), from Latin mercēnārius (“hired for money”), from mercēs (“reward, wages, price”).

noun mercenaries

One motivated by gain, especially monetary. J. Argyrofylus, a mercenary Greek, who came to teach school in Italy, after the sacking of Constantinople by the Turks, used to maintain that Cicero understood neither Philosophy nor Greek
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. He exhorts the emperor to revive the courage of his subjects by the example of manly virtue; to banish luxury from the court and from the camp; to substitute in the place of the Barbarian mercenaries, an army of men interested in the defence of their laws and of their property
figuratively One hired to engage in a figurative battle, as a corporate takeover, a lawsuit, or a political campaign.

adjective more mercenary · most mercenary

Motivated by personal gain. Success is never so interesting as struggle—not even to the successful, not even to the most mercenary forms of ambition.
Similar: greedy, venal

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: freelance, moneymaking, paid, mercantile, materialistic, worldly, commercial, worldly-minded, vigilante, employment, henchman, proxy, gunfighter, creepy, merc, venal

noun

Translations

Every language

noun person employed to fight

Español	mercenario
한국어	용병 yongbyeong
日本語	傭兵 yōhei
中文	僱傭兵 /雇佣兵 gùyōngbīng, 傭兵 /佣兵 yōngbīng
हिन्दी	भाड़े का सिपाही bhāṛe kā sipāhī, किराये का सैनिक kirāye kā sainik, भृत सैनिक bhŕt sainik
Kiswahili	mamluki
Português	mercenário
Français	mercenaire
Deutsch	Söldner, Söldnerin, Mietsoldat, Legionär
Italiano	mercenario
Ελληνικά	μισθοφόρος misthofóros
Română	mercenar
Русский	наёмник najómnik, наёмница najómnica, найми́т najmít, найми́тка najmítka
Tiếng Việt	lính đánh thuê, tay sai
العربية	مُرْتَزِق murtaziq, مُؤْجِر muʔjir
עברית	שְׂכִיר חֶרֶב sakhír khérev

adj motivated by personal gain

Español	mercenario
日本語	実利的 jitsuriteki
中文	唯利是圖 /唯利是图 wéilìshìtú
Português	mercenário
Français	mercenaire
Deutsch	geldgierig, gewinnsüchtig, käuflich
Italiano	mercenario
Ελληνικά	μισθοφορικός misthoforikós, ιδιοτελής idiotelís
Русский	коры́стный korýstnyj, корыстолюби́вый korystoljubívyj
العربية	مُؤْجِر muʔjir

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Cite this

MLA

"mercenary." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/mercenary. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

mercenary. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/mercenary

Chicago

"mercenary." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/mercenary.

BibTeX

@misc{mercenary_2026,
  title = {mercenary},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/mercenary},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}