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
The new film — directed by Gareth Edwards — stars Scarlett Johansson as mercenary Zora Bennett and Jonathan Bailey as paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis as Bennett leads a dangerous expedition to secure the genetic material of the world's three largest dinosaurs.
—
Brenton Blanchet, People.com, 5 July 2025
Detractors might argue that lo-fi beats was always mercenary music engineered and optimized to hook sad bois with no taste, and good riddance.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 2 July 2025
The only other survivor, mercenary Kim, advises Jun-ho to give up the search.
—Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 27 June 2025
Battalions of mercenary soldiers could be used as a scalpel to fulfill foreign policy goals in places like Sudan and Syria, where Russia had an interest in resources like gold or could count on political support from autocratic leaders.
—Nicolas Niarchos, New York Times, 13 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for mercenary
Brenton Blanchet, People.com, 5 July 2025
Detractors might argue that lo-fi beats was always mercenary music engineered and optimized to hook sad bois with no taste, and good riddance.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 2 July 2025
The only other survivor, mercenary Kim, advises Jun-ho to give up the search.
—Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 27 June 2025
Battalions of mercenary soldiers could be used as a scalpel to fulfill foreign policy goals in places like Sudan and Syria, where Russia had an interest in resources like gold or could count on political support from autocratic leaders.
—Nicolas Niarchos, New York Times, 13 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for mercenary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mercenary
Adjective
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But the vast majority are cynical and greedy and scared of losing their jobs.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
3 July 2025
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A far cry from the mild-mannered Peter Parker in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films, Tully is an abusive, hot-headed, and greedy slime ball who leverages post-war desperation into a thriving criminal business.—
Josh Weiss,
Forbes.com,
2 July 2025
Adjective
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Applications for the program will open later this year and the government is optimistic about strong interest from those eager to capitalize on this opportunity.—
Panorama Media Ltd,
Miami Herald,
14 July 2025
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As growth in the region has pushed west and commercial development has accelerated beyond Boise, Idaho’s second-largest city has added jobs, boosted wages and caught the eye of employers eager to set up shop in a central location and cut their workers’ commute times.—
Idaho Statesman,
Idaho Statesman,
14 July 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 25 Jul. 2025.
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