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
The eight-episode first season follows a mercenary (Sy) who embarks on a dangerous mission to rescue hostages in Libya.
—
Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2025
That sounds a lot like Cassian Andor, the mercenary orphan turned galactic hero at the heart of two seasons of Andor on Disney+.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Oct. 2025
Black and his co-writers soften the cold mercenary side of Parker by giving him something of a moral compass, which prompts him to toss $10,000 to the stranger’s wife before fleeing the scene.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2025
Earth hires a mercenary company that gamifies the eviction process.
—Erik Pedersen, Oc Register, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mercenary
Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2025
That sounds a lot like Cassian Andor, the mercenary orphan turned galactic hero at the heart of two seasons of Andor on Disney+.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Oct. 2025
Black and his co-writers soften the cold mercenary side of Parker by giving him something of a moral compass, which prompts him to toss $10,000 to the stranger’s wife before fleeing the scene.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2025
Earth hires a mercenary company that gamifies the eviction process.
—Erik Pedersen, Oc Register, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mercenary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mercenary
Adjective
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To be clear, most of the blame for this climate crisis goes to the greedy fossil fuel executives and big agriculture executives, their greenwashing PR firms, and the politicians in their pockets.—
Ayana Elizabeth Johnson,
Time,
4 Nov. 2025
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But Septime Webre’s choreography is supposed to have the air of wild and sometimes frenzied social dancing, of Charlestons and Fox Trots and Black Bottoms, of indulging the glorious excesses of the 1920s before the greedier side of the American Dream comes crashing down a few years later.—
David Lyman,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The evil-doing in question is simple enough, at least for a franchise that has always been built around the existence of a clandestine organization of magicians (The Eye) who love using their skills to take down bad guys and quite literally share the wealth with their eager audiences.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
11 Nov. 2025
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Ghana has been one of the first countries to make major Article 6 sales, and some other African nations are eager to follow, Ali Mohamed, Kenya’s special climate envoy, told Semafor.—
Tim McDonnell,
semafor.com,
11 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Harlan has an avaricious family, each member of which has something to gain from his death.—
Anna Russell,
New Yorker,
10 Nov. 2025
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What Netanyahu wants is not this peace deal or avaricious annexations, but to stay in power.—
Yair Rosenberg,
The Atlantic,
21 Oct. 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 22 Nov. 2025.
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