mercenary

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“
I am known as a mercenary woman, and until we marry and give up the money, everybody will think scornfully of me.

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Definitions (16)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (4)

  1. adjective Motivated solely by a desire for monetary or material gain.
  2. adjective Hired for service in a foreign army.
  3. noun One who serves or works merely for monetary gain; a hireling.
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (6)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (2)

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Examples (50)

  • In frustration Pandion calls for a mercenary, a great fighter who will help him to win, and Tereus takes the job and slays some men and also plots battle strategies that win the war. —  F ;SF; - vol 104 issue 01 - January 2003
  • Sargos had once fought against the Knights as a mercenary, and he had no desire to cross swords with the Order again. —  Carr, John F, Kalvan Kingmaker (v1.0) (html).html
  • Their enterprise in obtaining news he described as a mercenary diligence in the collection and diffusion of information, whether true or false. —  The Project Gutenberg eBook of James Fenimore Cooper by Thomas R. Lounsbury
  • Sly: I just felt that if you are going to do a story about a mercenary, which is always a fascinating character, you try to put them in a situation where he can find certain redemption. —  UGO.com - UnderGroundOnline
  • By the term mercenary, I don't mean ruthless and cold killing for a buck. —  GreenCine Daily
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

selfish ·  cavalry ·  unscrupulous ·  volunteer ·  greedy ·  cowardly ·  corrupt ·  ruthless ·  rebel ·  british ·  lawless ·  ambitious

Used in the same contextWord Family

mercenary:   mercenaries
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English mercenarie, a mercenary, from Old French mercenaire, from Latin mercēnnārius, from mercēs, wages, price.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Middle English mercenarie = French mercenaire = Spanish Portuguese Italian mercenario, from Latin mercenarius, earlier mercennarius, hired for pay, hireling, as noun a hired laborer, from merces (merced-), pay, wages, reward: see mercy.
 

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/ˈmərsɛnəri/
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