mercenary
4
7.3
- adjective
- /ˈmɜr.sə.ner.i/
:
mercenario
- Maybe if they were less gleefully mercenary about it.
- strictly mercenary
- more mercenary
- mercenary soldiers
Obviously it is, but how much human speech isn't mercenary on some level or another?
- Obviously it is, but how much human speech isn't mercenary on some level or another?
- So it was totally a mercenary thing to say This would pay off for our company.
- And, you know, it's easy to sort of limit that down to like, they're just a professional marketer and their mercenary, not a missionary.
- So these are this is mercenary media for the state paid for.
- So either sort of a military power or mercenary wealth.
- Everybody else had become too comfortable and too civilized, and the Aztecs were just mercenary.
Examples
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They're nomadic hunting, mercenary warrior people trying to find a place to settle.
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Your generation is so mercenary, Charles.
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Even now, in these mercenary times?
Academic text (2005) -
My reasons are entirely mercenary.
-
Truth is, everyone, as Jaime knows, can be rude, mercenary, and self-interested.
Fiction book (1996) -
The best you can say about her is that she's an unprincipled, mercenary hack.
Blog text (27) -
It's purely mercenary.
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In a mercenary world, many people prioritize financial gain over loyalty and ethics.
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His mercenary attitude made it clear that he was only interested in the highest bidder.
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The company adopted a mercenary approach to business, focusing solely on profit margins.
Synonyms
4
6.0
Wanting a lot of money, even if it hurts other people
4
9.3
Very greedy for money and willing to take things from others
3
6.5
Showing a strong desire to get a lot of money, often at others' expense
Antonyms
Compounds
How Mercenary
Surface Forms
Morphology
mercenary = mercen + ary
The formation uses the combining form 'mercen-' plus the suffix '-ary', but 'mercen-' is not a standalone modern English word, so learners cannot reliably infer the adjective's meaning from its parts.
Etymology
Mercenary comes from the Latin root merces, which means 'pay' or 'wages' and is the same root as merchant. So to be mercenary is to act mainly for money rather than for loyalty.