mercenary

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mer·ce·nar·y

 (mûr′sə-nĕr′ē)
adj.
1. Motivated solely by a desire for monetary or material gain.
2. Hired for service in a foreign army.
n. pl. mer·ce·nar·ies
1. One who serves or works merely for monetary gain; a hireling.
2. A professional soldier hired for service in a foreign army.
[Middle English mercenarie, a mercenary, from Old French mercenaire, from Latin mercēnnārius, from mercēs, wages, price.]
mer′ce·nar′i·ly adv.
mer′ce·nar′i·ness n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

mercenary

(ˈmɜːsɪnərɪ; -sɪnrɪ)
adj
1. influenced by greed or desire for gain
2. (Military) of or relating to a mercenary or mercenaries
n, pl -naries
3. (Military) a man hired to fight for a foreign army, etc
4. rare any person who works solely for pay
[C16: from Latin mercēnārius, from mercēs wages]
ˈmercenarily adv
ˈmercenariness n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

mer•ce•nar•y

(ˈmɜr səˌnɛr i)

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.
n.
3. a soldier hired to serve in a foreign army.
4. any hireling.
[1350–1400; Middle English mercenarie < Latin mercēnnārius hired worker, akin to mercēs wage]
mer`ce•nar′i•ly (-ˈnɛər ə li) adv.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.mercenary - a person hired to fight for another country than their own
soldier of fortune
adventurer, venturer - a person who enjoys taking risks
ninja - a member of the ninja who were trained in martial arts and hired for espionage or sabotage or assassinations; a person skilled in ninjutsu
Adj.1.mercenary - marked by materialismmercenary - marked by materialism    
materialistic, worldly-minded
worldly, secular, temporal - characteristic of or devoted to the temporal world as opposed to the spiritual world; "worldly goods and advancement"; "temporal possessions of the church"
2.mercenary - serving for wages in a foreign army; "mercenary killers"
freelance, free-lance
paid - marked by the reception of pay; "paid work"; "a paid official"; "a paid announcement"; "a paid check"
3.mercenary - profit orientedmercenary - profit oriented; "a commercial book"; "preached a mercantile and militant patriotism"- John Buchan; "a mercenary enterprise"; "a moneymaking business"
mercantile, moneymaking
commercial - connected with or engaged in or sponsored by or used in commerce or commercial enterprises; "commercial trucker"; "commercial TV"; "commercial diamonds"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

mercenary

noun
1. hireling, freelance (History), soldier of fortune, condottiere (History), free companion (History) In the film he plays a brutish, trigger-happy mercenary.
adjective
1. greedy, grasping, acquisitive, venal, avaricious, covetous, money-grubbing (informal), bribable Despite his mercenary motives, he is not a cynic.
greedy liberal, generous, benevolent, idealistic, altruistic, philanthropic, unselfish, munificent
2. hired, paid, bought, venal The mercenary soldier is not a valued creature.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

mercenary

adjective
Ruthlessly seeking personal advantage:
corrupt, praetorian, venal.
Informal: crooked.
noun
A freelance fighter:
adventurer, Hessian, soldier of fortune.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
مادّي، يَهُمُّه كَسْب المالمُرْتَزِق
mercenari
žoldnéřzištnýžoldák
beregnendelejesoldat
palkkasotilaspalkkasoturirahanahne
plaćenicaplaćenik
zsoldoszsoldoskatonakalmárszellemû
mála-, málaliîa-málaliîi
傭兵
savanaudiškas
algotņimantkārīgsnaudaskārs
huurling
najemnik
zištnýžoldnier
para canlısıparacıparalı asker

mercenary

[ˈmɜːsɪnərɪ]
A. ADJ → mercenario
B. N → mercenario/a m/f
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

mercenary

[ˈmɜːrsɪnəri]
adj [person] → mercenaire; [motives, considerations, reasons] → mercantile
n (= soldier) → mercenaire m
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

mercenary

adj
person → geldgierig; his motives were purely mercenary → er tat es nur des Geldes wegen; don’t be so mercenary → sei doch nicht so hinter dem Geld her (inf)
(Mil) → Söldner-; mercenary army → Söldnerarmee f
n → Söldner(in) m(f)
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

mercenary

[ˈmɜːsɪn/ərɪ]
1. adj (person) → mercenario/a; (motive) → venale
2. n → mercenario
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

mercenary

(ˈməːsinəri) adjective
too strongly influenced by desire for money. a mercenary attitude.
noun – plural ˈmercenaries –
a soldier from one country who hires his services to another country. Mercenaries are fighting in Africa.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
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