mer·cu·ri·al

(mər-kyo͝or′ē-əl)

adj.

1. often Mercurial

a. Roman Mythology Of or relating to the god Mercury.

b. Astronomy Of or relating to the planet Mercury.

2. Having the characteristics of eloquence, shrewdness, swiftness, and thievishness attributed to the god Mercury.

3. Containing or caused by the action of the element mercury.

4. Quick and changeable in temperament; volatile: a mercurial nature.

A pharmacological or chemical preparation containing mercury.

[Middle English, of the planet Mercury, from Latin mercuriālis, of the god or planet Mercury, from Mercurius, Mercury.]

mer·cu′ri·al·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

mercurial

(mɜːˈkjʊərɪəl)

adj

1. (Elements & Compounds) of, like, containing, or relating to mercury

2. volatile; lively: a mercurial temperament.

3. (Astronomy) (sometimes capital) of, like, or relating to the god or the planet Mercury

(Medicine) med any salt of mercury for use as a medicine

[C14: from Latin mercuriālis]

merˈcurially adv

merˈcurialness, merˌcuriˈality n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

mer•cu•ri•al

(mərˈkyʊər i əl)
adj.

1. changeable; fickle; flighty; erratic: a mercurial nature.

2. animated; lively; sprightly.

3. pertaining to, containing, or caused by the metal mercury.

4. (cap.) of or pertaining to the god Mercury.

5. (cap.) of or pertaining to the planet Mercury.

[1350–1400; Middle English < Latin]

mer•cu′ri•al•ly, adv.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adj.	1.	mercurial - liable to sudden unpredictable change; "erratic behavior"; "fickle weather"; "mercurial twists of temperament"; "a quicksilver character, cool and willful at one moment, utterly fragile the next" erratic, quicksilver, fickle changeful, changeable - such that alteration is possible; having a marked tendency to change; "changeable behavior"; "changeable moods"; "changeable prices"
	2.	Mercurial - relating to or under the (astrological) influence of the planet Mercury; "the Mercurial canals"
	3.	Mercurial - relating to or having characteristics (eloquence, shrewdness, swiftness, thievishness) attributed to the god Mercury; "more than Mercurial thievishness"
	4.	mercurial - relating to or containing or caused by mercury; "mercurial preparations"; "mercurial sore mouth"

mercurial

adjective capricious, volatile, unpredictable, erratic, variable, unstable, fickle, temperamental, impulsive, irrepressible, changeable, quicksilver, flighty, inconstant his mercurial temperament
stable, constant, steady, consistent, reliable, predictable, dependable, unchanging

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

mercurial

adjective

Following no predictable pattern:

capricious, changeable, erratic, fantastic, fantastical, fickle, freakish, inconsistent, inconstant, temperamental, ticklish, uncertain, unpredictable, unstable, unsteady, variable, volatile, whimsical.

Translations

mutevole

mercurial

[mɜːˈkjʊərɪəl] ADJ

1. (Chem) → mercúrico, mercurial

2. (= lively) → vivo; (= changeable) → veleidoso, voluble

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

mercurial

[mɜː^rˈkjʊəriəl] adj [person, temperament] → changeant(e)

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

mercurial

adj

(Chem: = containing mercury) → quecksilberhaltig

(fig) (= volatile) → sprunghaft, wechselhaft; (= lively) → quicklebendig

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

mercurial

[mɜːˈkjʊərɪəl] adj (unpredictable) → volubile

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

The spirits of men and women who sup are mercurial things, and it was a gay leave-taking half an hour or so later in the little Moorish room at the head of the staircase.

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They are expressed in the most plain and simple terms, wherein those people are not mercurial enough to discover above one interpretation: and to write a comment upon any law, is a capital crime.

View in context

The equestrian exercises, therefore, in which they are engaged, the nature of the countries they traverse, vast plains and mountains, pure and exhilarating in atmospheric qualities, seem to make them physically and mentally a more lively and mercurial race than the fur traders and trappers of former days, the self-vaunting "men of the north." A man who bestrides a horse must be essentially different from a man who cowers in a canoe.

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Astor was not overconfident of the stability and firm faith of these mercurial beings.

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"Thy entry is a pleasant field, Which some mossy fruit trees yield Partly to a ruddy brook, By gliding musquash undertook, And mercurial trout, Darting about."

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Van der School was a well-educated man, but of slow comprehension, who had imbibed a wariness in his speeches and actions, from having suffered by his collisions with his more mercurial and apt brethren who had laid the foundations of their practice in the Eastern courts, and who had sucked in shrewdness with their mother’s milk.

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'She has her own occupations to attend to; and besides, she is too old to run after a child, and he is too mercurial to be tied to an elderly woman.'

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He was not a mercurial man, who easily changed his point of view.

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You are too mercurial - you disclose all my emotions.

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They have neither the matured and systematically trained powers of the Polygonal Bachelors and Masters of Arts, nor yet the native precocity and mercurial versatility of the youthful Tradesman.

View in context

Summary: Karachi [Pakistan], Aug 3 (ANI): Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) Managing Director Wasim Khan on Saturday said that players need to work on their mental strength to remove the 'mercurial' tag as the team chokes at crucial games.

Pakistan players need to work on their mental strength, says Wasim Khan

'I love them because they are mercurial Pakistan and you wonder which Pakistan will turn up on the day.

What they see