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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People often stereotype crypto investors as reckless, young, or greedy.—
Jennifer Jolly,
USA Today,
18 June 2025
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To be patient but not to be greedy, Lilian thought now, studying Maureen’s pale eyelids.—
Yiyun Li,
New Yorker,
15 June 2025
Adjective
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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
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The ballpark help seemed eager to please, and restrictions on seating and other areas were loose to unenforced.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
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 5 Jul. 2025.
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