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
Both sides need mercenaries to survive and this box provides a campaign framework for running a mercenary company willing to die for that almighty C-Bill.
—
Rob Wieland, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for mercenary
Rob Wieland, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for mercenary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mercenary
Adjective
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Polaha plays Dick Hall, the president of Meridian Mortgage who is taken hostage by Tony Kiritsis (Ribisi), who publicly accuses him on being a greedy and cutthroat monster.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
24 Sep. 2025
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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
Adjective
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To carry out her vision, McMahon has brought on at least 20 political appointees from ultraconservative think tanks and advocacy groups eager to de-emphasize public schools, which have educated students for roughly 200 years.—
Megan O’Matz,
ProPublica,
8 Oct. 2025
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Following the splashy release of Sora 2, Musk — a founder of OpenAI who left the board in 2018 and has since become a fierce critic of the company and Altman — appeared particularly eager to plug his competitor product.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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But is better than the alternative of admitting to an avaricious Moscow that Ukraine must accept some kind of defeat.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
24 Sep. 2025
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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
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 9 Oct. 2025.
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