Associations to the word «Privateer»

Wiktionary

PRIVATEER, noun. An unethical individual or group acting covertly with enabling, usually bribed, accomplices inside government to destroy a government’s ability to carry out some aspect of its moral mission of protection and empowerment, by transferring critical moral functions along with public funds. Privateers make considerable profits for doing these civic tasks without any public accountability. Examples include: military functions; intelligence functions; monitoring food, drug, and product safety; interrogating prisoners; disaster relief; and educating the public.
PRIVATEER, noun. (nautical) A privately owned warship that had official sanction to attack enemy ships and take possession of their cargo.
PRIVATEER, noun. An officer or any other member of the crew of such a ship.
PRIVATEER, noun. (motor racing) A private individual entrant into a race or competition who does not have the backing of a large, professional team.
PRIVATEER, verb. To undermine government’s moral mission to care for its citizens and to covertly steal public funds.
PRIVATEER, verb. To function under official sanction permitting attacks on enemy shipping and seizing ship and cargo; to engage in government-sponsored piracy.

Dictionary definition

PRIVATEER, noun. An officer or crew member of a privateer.
PRIVATEER, noun. A privately owned warship commissioned to prey on the commercial shipping or warships of an enemy nation.

Wise words

The chief virtue that language can have is clearness, and nothing detracts from it so much as the use of unfamiliar words.
Hippocrates