Mercenary vs Assassin - What's the difference?
mercenary | assassin |
Motivated by private gain.
* Dryden
A person employed to fight in an armed conflict who is not a member of the state or military group for which they are fighting and whose prime or sole motivation is private gain.
(historical) A member of a Muslim militant group responsible for murdering Christian leaders during the Crusades.
*, II.29:
Someone who intentionally kills a person, especially a professional who kills a public or political figure.
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-29, volume=407, issue=8842, page=55, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= Any ruthless killer.
As nouns the difference between mercenary and assassin
is that mercenary is a person employed to fight in an armed conflict who is not a member of the state or military group for which they are fighting and whose prime or sole motivation is private gain while assassin is a member of a Muslim militant group responsible for murdering Christian leaders during the Crusades.As an adjective mercenary
is motivated by private gain.As a verb assassin is
to assassinate.mercenary
English
(wikipedia mercenary)Adjective
(en adjective)- For God forbid I should my papers blot / With mercenary lines, with servile pen.
Synonyms
* (motivated by private gain) greedy, venalNoun
(mercenaries)Synonyms
* SeeSee also
* soldierassassin
English
Noun
(en noun)- The Assassines , a nation depending of Phœnicia, are esteemed among the Mahometists of a soveraigne devotion and puritie of maners; they hold, that the readiest and shortest way to gaine Paradise, is to kill some one of a contrary religion.
Travels and travails, passage=Even without hovering drones, a lurking assassin , a thumping score and a denouement, the real-life story of Edward Snowden, a rogue spy on the run, could be straight out of the cinema. But, as with Hollywood, the subplots and exotic locations may distract from the real message: America’s discomfort and its foes’ glee.}}