mercenaries

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Mali imported Russia’s Wagner mercenaries in 2022, in a failed attempt to swiftly suffocate the local Islamist insurgency that has since emerged as al Qaeda’s most successful and resilient offshoot.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026

Colombian President Gustavo Petro was quoted last year as calling the mercenaries "spectres of death" and describing their recruitment as a "form of human trafficking".

From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026

Haftar feared Moscow’s mercenaries could attempt a coup against his rebel faction, as they had tried in Russia itself, Libyan and European officials have previously said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

It flew in its Wagner mercenaries to support his forces and used his territory as its logistical access point to half-a-dozen sub-Saharan countries where it scooped up valuable reserves of gold, diamond and timber.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

We see from experience that only princes and republics armed with their own troops make very great progress, and that mercenaries cause nothing but damage.

From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli