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# mercenary

«mercenary» in Mova's school dictionary: **A soldier who fights for any country or group that pays…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a mercenary, mercenaries); adjective (mercenary)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A soldier who fights for any country or group that pays them, not for their own country. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mercenary/#m1)

2) (adjective) Interested only in money, not in being kind or fair. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mercenary/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In history lessons and stories: kings hired mercenaries to fight their wars. In everyday talk, calling someone mercenary means they only care about money — a criticism. Phrases: hire mercenaries, mercenary army, mercenary attitude.

### examples

- The king paid mercenaries to defend the castle. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mercenary/#x1)
- The mercenaries changed sides when offered more gold. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mercenary/#x2)
- He only helps if he gets paid — so mercenary! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mercenary/#x3)
- The story's villain led a mercenary army. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mercenary/#x4)
- A mercenary fights for money, not for loyalty. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mercenary/#x5)
- Don't be mercenary; help your friend for free. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mercenary/#x6)
- German mercenaries, in the Neapolitan service, kept guard, played cards, and diced; and a troop of strangers from beyond the mountains came into the town, accompanied by a sentry. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mercenary/#x7)

### note

Plural mercenaries (y to ies). As an adjective it is negative (disapproving). Similar: hired soldier; adjective similar: greedy.

### In the corpora

- ["Private military contractor" is the official name for a hired soldier, a mercenary.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/26-war-and-the-military/23/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «mercenary» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mercenary/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.