mercenary

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.

Last November, the South African government said it had received distress calls from the group of men who had joined mercenary forces in the conflict.

From BBC • Feb. 24, 2026

The source identified the security crew as Aleksander T., 34, and Maksim D., 40, adding that the latter was a former police officer who had worked for Russian mercenary group Wagner.

From Barron's • Feb. 23, 2026

Those glimpses of humanity had a way of rendering the mercenary atmosphere in the tent city incredibly disorienting—almost unreal.

From Slate • Feb. 23, 2026

And yet his approach to his craft is unusually earnest, devoid of the mystique that surrounds Kendrick Lamar or the mercenary commercial instincts of Drake, to name two of his peers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 10, 2026

Everyone knew that the difference between an unemployed mercenary and a highwayman was mostly one of timing.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss