mercenaries
Soldiers for pay
Mercenaries is the plural of mercenary—a soldier who fights for pay rather than patriotism or ideology.
The term carries connotations of moral indifference: mercenaries fight for whoever pays, regardless of the cause.
By extension, mercenary describes anyone motivated purely by money: a mercenary attitude, mercenary lawyers.
The company hired mercenaries to guard the oil fields.
Military personnel collectively
- fightersThose who engage physically
- combatantsThose engaged in warfare
- operativesThose who execute missions
- contractorsHired service providers
guns-for-hire · irregulars · auxiliaries · commandos · legionnaires · Hessians · Gurkhas · privateers
Armed uprising against authority
- paramilitaryUnofficial armed organization
- militiaNon-professional armed force
- guerrillaIrregular armed fighter
- counterinsurgencyCombating armed rebellion tactics
covert · sabotage · assassination · coup · intervention · destabilization · warlord · hotspot
Reward for capture
- feePayment for service
- retainerUpfront professional fee
- paymentFulfilling a financial obligation
- compensationPayment for services rendered
terms · clause · negotiation · commission · assignment · mission · operation · task
Loyalty owed to authority
- betrayalBreaking of trust
- defectionAbandoning one's loyalty
- turncoatOne who betrays allegiance
- double-crossTreacherous deception of partner
oath · fealty · bond · treachery · bought · sellout · disloyalty · opportunism
Methods to achieve goals
- ambushSurprise strike from concealment
- assaultViolent offensive act
- skirmishBrief, limited combat
- engagementCommitment to wed or attend
raid · guerrilla · reconnaissance · flank · siege · sniper · camouflage · fortification
troops
Military personnel collectively
- fightersThose who engage physically
- combatantsThose engaged in warfare
- operativesThose who execute missions
contractors · guns-for-hire · irregulars · auxiliaries · commandos · legionnaires · Hessians · Gurkhas · privateers · freebooters
insurgency
Armed uprising against authority
- paramilitaryUnofficial armed organization
- militiaNon-professional armed force
- guerrillaIrregular armed fighter
counterinsurgency · covert · sabotage · assassination · coup · intervention · destabilization · warlord · hotspot · theater
bounty
Reward for capture
compensation · terms · clause · negotiation · commission · assignment · mission · operation · task · deniability
allegiance
Loyalty owed to authority
double-cross · oath · fealty · bond · treachery · bought · sellout · disloyalty · opportunism · self-interest
tactics
Methods to achieve goals
engagement · raid · guerrilla · reconnaissance · flank · siege · sniper · camouflage · fortification · firefight
- Medieval Eraknights, Middle Ages, castles, feudal lords, medieval period
- armed forcesarmy, military, soldiers, troops, marines
- ancient armiesphalanx, legion, hoplites, heavy infantry, light infantry
- auxiliary forcesauxiliaries, support units, colonial troops, native troops, foreign legion
- Elite Unitsspecial forces, commandos, Navy SEALs, Delta Force, Green Berets
- Medieval Groupsknights, crusaders, Templars, Teutonic Knights, Normans
mercenariesvolunteers
Unpaid willing workers
patriots · idealists · freedom fighters · crusaders · revolutionaries
mercenariessoldiers
Military personnel who fight
regulars · enlisted personnel · servicemen · military personnel · armed forces
mercenariespatriots
Devoted homeland supporters
loyalists · nationalists · citizen-soldiers · defenders · guardians