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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Recent Examples of mercenary
Unlike the mercenary group, the paramilitary Africa Corps is placed under the umbrella of the Russian defense ministry, according to the group’s official Telegram channel.
—
Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2025
When confronting the failures of corporate medicine, reversing the disastrous course of the mercenary business model built on the suffering of Americans requires a revolutionary approach.
—David Marks, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Aug. 2025
The United States seems to be the only major nation that’s in the grip of such mercenary and selfish dogma.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 5 Aug. 2025
Straddling the line between space cop, mercenary, and reluctant father, Pascal spends most of the first season fighting for money while also battling his feelings of attachment for this vulnerable, new dependent.
—EW.com, 31 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for mercenary
Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2025
When confronting the failures of corporate medicine, reversing the disastrous course of the mercenary business model built on the suffering of Americans requires a revolutionary approach.
—David Marks, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Aug. 2025
The United States seems to be the only major nation that’s in the grip of such mercenary and selfish dogma.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 5 Aug. 2025
Straddling the line between space cop, mercenary, and reluctant father, Pascal spends most of the first season fighting for money while also battling his feelings of attachment for this vulnerable, new dependent.
—EW.com, 31 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for mercenary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mercenary
Adjective
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Left-wing antisemitism, which cast Jews as greedy capitalists, existed as well, especially in France, but Jew-baiting remained primarily a right-wing pursuit, the work of illiberal nativists who saw a tiny minority as polluting the purity of their racial or religious communities.—
Ian Buruma,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
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But given both the film’s protagonist (gig worker Eyüp, played by the director) and title character (Eyüp’s greedy boss) are participants in the dance, this Turkish writer can’t help but see it as a biting social statement.—
Tomris Laffly,
Variety,
16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Practitioners are eager to see how much truth there is to this report and to evaluate the details to best advise their clients.—
Billal Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Sep. 2025
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For nations eager to keep battery value chains local, that matters.—
Kapil Kajal,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Manipulating these obviously very greedy and avaricious [people] is still kind of beneath his skills.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Aug. 2025
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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
Adjective
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Building out that platform and benefiting as more teams are plugged into it has meant Leonsis and MSE have stayed acquisitive.—
Ian Thomas,
CNBC,
18 Sep. 2025
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Retail e-commerce penetration had surged during the pandemic, which brought a rush of acquisitive capital into the space.—
Lien De Pau,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mercenary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mercenary. Accessed 28 Sep. 2025.
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