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Mercenary vs Vigilante - What's the difference?

mercenary | vigilante |

As nouns the difference between mercenary and vigilante

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 vigilante is a person who considers it their own responsibility to uphold the law in their neighborhood and often does so summarily and without legal jurisdiction.

As an adjective mercenary

is motivated by private gain.

mercenary

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Motivated by private gain.
  • * Dryden
  • For God forbid I should my papers blot / With mercenary lines, with servile pen.

    Synonyms

    * (motivated by private gain) greedy, venal

    Noun

    (mercenaries)
  • 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.
  • Synonyms

    * See

    See also

    * soldier

    vigilante

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A person who considers it their own responsibility to uphold the law in their neighborhood and often does so summarily and without legal jurisdiction.
  • Derived terms

    * digilante

    Anagrams

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