as in greedy
having or marked by an eager and often selfish desire especially for material possessions
they were a mercenary couple, who defined themselves not by what they were but by what they owned
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mercenary
Her detailed analysis shows how the country’s restructuring under Putin provided fertile soil for Prigozhin to graduate from woman-strangling street thug to catering star and mercenary prodigy.
—
Nicolas Niarchos, New York Times, 13 May 2025
In September, Russian state media reported Hubbard pleaded guilty to the mercenary charges.
—Patrick Reevell, ABC News, 4 Apr. 2025
Apple has detected mercenary spyware attacks on select iPhones and issued Threat Notifications to those affected, TechCrunch reports.
—Jibin Joseph, PC Magazine, 2 May 2025
The most advanced phone-hacking technology sold by mercenary firms requires no target interaction and leaves no indication that the device has been tampered with.
—Ronald J. Deibert, Foreign Affairs, 24 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mercenary
Nicolas Niarchos, New York Times, 13 May 2025
In September, Russian state media reported Hubbard pleaded guilty to the mercenary charges.
—Patrick Reevell, ABC News, 4 Apr. 2025
Apple has detected mercenary spyware attacks on select iPhones and issued Threat Notifications to those affected, TechCrunch reports.
—Jibin Joseph, PC Magazine, 2 May 2025
The most advanced phone-hacking technology sold by mercenary firms requires no target interaction and leaves no indication that the device has been tampered with.
—Ronald J. Deibert, Foreign Affairs, 24 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mercenary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mercenary
Adjective
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They weren’t built by the government, but rather by those evil greedy private corporations and individuals who are guilty of the heinous crime of providing millions of Americans with places to live.—
The Editors,
National Review,
30 June 2025
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The backdrop of the Marcos dictatorship shaped her artistic approach, defined by an interest in quotidian experience—including everyday injustices such as gender inequality and the ecological exploitation of the Philippines by greedy conglomerates.—
Hung Duong,
Artforum,
18 June 2025
Adjective
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Their silence is not surprising—the Trump administration has been eager to punish individual colleges, especially those that speak out against administration policies.—
Emma Whitford,
Forbes.com,
21 June 2025
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Columbus has the most cap room in the league and is eager to add this summer.—
Pierre LeBrun,
New York Times,
21 June 2025
Adjective
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The comedy-drama follows a Gen Z content creator who returns to her ancestral home seeking viral material, only to encounter her deceased brother’s ghost while dealing with avaricious relatives.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
14 Apr. 2025
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This nation state, my home, is built on a quagmire of lies sold to the young as truths; sold to the insecure as truths; sold by the avaricious, the power-hungry, the conceited, the overwhelmingly white and male.—
Christine Winter,
Artforum,
1 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The competitive battle for smaller players continued into the early 1960s until antitrust laws curtailed the acquisitive sprees.—
Vicki M. Young,
Footwear News,
3 Sep. 2019
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Over its history OpenText has been an highly acquisitive company to build out its software stack.—
GuruFocus,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mercenary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mercenary. Accessed 7 Jul. 2025.
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