Definition of MERCURIAL

Choose the Right Synonym for mercurial

Adjective

inconstant, fickle, capricious, mercurial, unstable mean lacking firmness or steadiness (as in purpose or devotion). inconstant implies an incapacity for steadiness and an inherent tendency to change. an inconstant friend fickle suggests unreliability because of perverse changeability and incapacity for steadfastness. performers discover how fickle fans can be capricious suggests motivation by sudden whim or fancy and stresses unpredictability. an utterly capricious critic mercurial implies a rapid changeability in mood. made anxious by her boss's mercurial temperament unstable implies an incapacity for remaining in a fixed position or steady course and applies especially to a lack of emotional balance. too unstable to hold a job

Did You Know?

Adjective

The Roman god Mercury ("Mercurius" in Latin) was the messenger and herald of the gods and also the god of merchants and thieves. (His counterpart in Greek mythology is Hermes.) He was noted for his eloquence, swiftness, and cunning, and the Romans named what appeared to them to be the fastest-moving planet in his honor. The Latin adjective derived from his name, mercurialis, meaning "of or relating to Mercury," was borrowed into English in the 14th century as "mercurial." Although the adjective initially meant "born under the planet Mercury," it came to mean also "having qualities of eloquence, ingenuity, or thievishness attributed to the god Mercury or the influence of the planet Mercury," and then "unpredictably changeable."

Examples of mercurial in a Sentence

Adjective

Few moments in English history have been more hungry for the future, its mercurial possibilities and its hope of richness, than the spring of 1603. — Adam Nicolson, God's Secretaries, 2003 Though you could see all three places in one day, each of them makes you want to stay or to keep returning to watch the effects of the changing weather and the mercurial Sicilian light. — Francine Prose, Atlantic, December 2002 Some scientists suggest that because manic-depressive patients are ever riding the bio-chemical express between emotional extremes, their brains end up more complexly wired and remain more persistently plastic than do the brains of less mercurial sorts. — Natalie Angier, New York Times, 12 Oct. 1993 Still grinning, still miming, he samba-ed across the floor … and started in on the dishes with a vigor that would have prostrated his mercurial cousin. — T. Coraghessan Boyle, Harper's, October 1987 the boss's mood is so mercurial that we never know how he's going to react to anything

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

And with a voice as magically mercurial as its plot, The Underground Railroad won a National Book Award, a Pulitzer Prize and, perhaps most important, Oprah Winfrey's blessing. — Ron Charles, Dallas News, "In Colson Whitehead's 'The Nickel Boys,' an idealistic black teen learns a harsh reality," 9 July 2019 Which is why all of this social-media nonsense about the Magic possibly acquiring mercurial Oklahoma City point guard Russell Westbrook is nothing but a bunch of Twitter litter. — Mike Bianchi, orlandosentinel.com, "Nikola Vucevic is the anti-Dwight Howard — an all-star who realizes how good he has it in Orlando | Commentary," 8 July 2019 On the one hand, the thought of Alondra returning to her mercurial and sometimes violent mother is unsettling to us. — Leila Atassi, cleveland.com, "Alondra Rivera returns home, Open Table regroups after her stint of homelessness: A Greater Cleveland," 24 June 2019 Robin is a mercurial and self-destructive piano prodigy while Lark, the book’s narrator, is a studious introvert who works behind the scenes for a famous documentarian. — Sam Sacks, WSJ, "Fiction: Friendships, Rivalries, Hierarchies & Reversals," 21 June 2019 The only way for the Thunder to fully start over is finding a taker for their mercurial, longtime cornerstone, although the odds are that process will be nowhere near as lucrative. — Jeremy Woo, SI.com, "Paul George and Russell Westbrook Trades Could Create the Perfect Thunder Rebuild," 8 July 2019 Despite the injury history and mercurial reputation, Cousins could probably help the Pistons. — Vince Ellis, Detroit Free Press, "Why DeMarcus Cousins is an unlikely option for Detroit Pistons in free agency," 4 July 2019 The book seems to suggest that the real American inheritance is transformation, and that American transformation is a mercurial thing. — Constance Grady, Vox, "Reading Amelia Bedelia as a parable on domestic labor," 15 June 2019 The book seems to suggest that the real American inheritance is transformation, and that American transformation is a mercurial thing. — Constance Grady, Vox, "Reading Amelia Bedelia as a parable on domestic labor," 15 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mercurial.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.