'Mercurial' definitions:
Definition of 'mercurial'
From: WordNet
adjective
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" [syn: erratic, fickle, mercurial, quicksilver(a)]
adjective
Relating to or under the (astrological) influence of the planet Mercury; "the Mercurial canals"
adjective
Relating to or having characteristics (eloquence, shrewdness, swiftness, thievishness) attributed to the god Mercury; "more than Mercurial thievishness"
adjective
Relating to or containing or caused by mercury; "mercurial preparations"; "mercurial sore mouth"
Definition of 'Mercurial'
From: GCIDE
- Mercurial \Mer*cu"ri*al\, n.
- 1. A person having mercurial qualities. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]
- 2. (Med.) A preparation containing mercury. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'Mercurial'
From: GCIDE
- Mercurial \Mer*cu"ri*al\, a. [L. mercurialis, fr. Mercurius Mercury: cf. F. mercuriel.]
- 1. Having the qualities fabled to belong to the god Mercury; swift; active; sprightly; fickle; volatile; changeable; as, a mercurial youth; a mercurial temperament. [1913 Webster]
- A mercurial man Who fluttered over all things like a fan. --Byron. [1913 Webster]
- 2. Having the form or image of Mercury; -- applied to ancient guideposts. [Obs.] --Chillingworth. [1913 Webster]
- 3. Of or pertaining to Mercury as the god of trade; hence, money-making; crafty. [1913 Webster]
- The mercurial wand of commerce. --J. Q. Adams. [1913 Webster]
- 4. Of or pertaining to, or containing, mercury; as, mercurial preparations, barometer. See Mercury, 2. [1913 Webster]
- 5. (Med.) Caused by the use of mercury; as, mercurial sore mouth. [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'mercurial'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- active,
- activist,
- activistic,
- adrift,
- adroit,
- afloat,
- agile,
- alive,
- alternating,
- ambitendent,
- ambivalent,
- amorphous,
- animated,
- at loose ends,
- aureate,
- bouncing,
- bouncy,
- brass,
- brassy,
- brazen,
- breakneck,
- breezy,
- brisk,
- bronze,
- bronzy,
- bubbly,
- buoyant,
- capricious,
- changeable,
- changeful,
- changing,
- chipper,
- choppy,
- clever,
- copper,
- coppery,
- coquettish,
- cunning,
- cupreous,
- cuprous,
- dashing,
- desultory,
- deviable,
- deviating,
- deviative,
- deviatory,
- different,
- disorderly,
- divaricate,
- divergent,
- diversified,
- diversiform,
- dizzy,
- double-minded,
- double-quick,
- dubious,
- eagle-winged,
- ebullient,
- eccentric,
- effervescent,
- elastic,
- energetic,
- erose,
- erratic,
- expansive,
- expeditious,
- express,
- faddish,
- fast,
- fast and loose,
- fence-sitting,
- fence-straddling,
- ferrous,
- ferruginous,
- fickle,
- fitful,
- fleet,
- flickering,
- flighty,
- flirtatious,
- flitting,
- fluctuating,
- flying,
- freakish,
- frisky,
- full of go,
- full of life,
- full of pep,
- galloping,
- giddy,
- gilt,
- gold,
- gold-filled,
- gold-plated,
- golden,
- hair-trigger,
- hasty,
- headlong,
- hustling,
- impetuous,
- impulsive,
- inconsistent,
- inconstant,
- indecisive,
- infirm,
- infirm of purpose,
- ingenious,
- iron,
- ironlike,
- irregular,
- irresolute,
- irresolved,
- irresponsible,
- jagged,
- jerky,
- lead,
- leaden,
- light,
- light of heel,
- light-footed,
- live,
- lively,
- lubricious,
- mazy,
- mercurous,
- militant,
- mobile,
- moody,
- motley,
- movable,
- mugwumpian,
- mugwumpish,
- mutable,
- nickel,
- nickelic,
- nickeline,
- nimble,
- nimble-footed,
- nonconformist,
- nonstandard,
- nonuniform,
- of two minds,
- peppy,
- perky,
- pert,
- pewter,
- pewtery,
- pluralistic,
- precipitate,
- prompt,
- quick,
- quick as lightning,
- quick as thought,
- quicksilver,
- ragged,
- rambling,
- rapid,
- reckless,
- resilient,
- restless,
- rough,
- roving,
- running,
- scatterbrained,
- shapeless,
- shifting,
- shifty,
- shuffling,
- silver,
- silver-plated,
- silvery,
- skittish,
- smacking,
- snappy,
- spanking,
- spasmodic,
- speedy,
- spineless,
- spirited,
- sporadic,
- sprightly,
- spry,
- steel,
- steely,
- swift,
- temperamental,
- ticklish,
- tin,
- tinny,
- toying,
- unaccountable,
- uncertain,
- uncontrolled,
- undecided,
- undependable,
- undetermined,
- undisciplined,
- unequable,
- unequal,
- uneven,
- unfixed,
- unorthodox,
- unpredictable,
- unreliable,
- unresolved,
- unrestrained,
- unsettled,
- unstable,
- unstable as water,
- unstaid,
- unsteadfast,
- unsteady,
- unsystematic,
- ununiform,
- vacillating,
- vagrant,
- variable,
- variegated,
- variform,
- various,
- varying,
- versatile,
- vicissitudinary,
- vicissitudinous,
- vivacious,
- volatile,
- wandering,
- wanton,
- wavering,
- wavery,
- wavy,
- wayward,
- whimsical,
- winged,
- wishy-washy,
- zingy
Words containing 'Mercurial'
- Mercurialize,
- Mercurialized,
- Mercurializing,
- Mercurially,
- Mercury,
- mercurialism,
- Bichloride of mercury,
- Dog's mercury,
- English mercury,
- Horn mercury,
- dog mercury,
- fulminate of mercury,
- fulminating mercury,
- herb mercury,
- herbs mercury,
- mercurial ointment,
- mercury barometer,
- mercury bichloride,
- mercury cell,
- mercury chloride,
- mercury fulminate,
- mercury perchloride,
- mercury poisoning,
- mercury program,
- mercury thermometer,
- millimeter of mercury,
- poison mercury,
- Hepatic mercurial ore,
- mercurial compensation pendulum,
- mercurial steam gauge,
- mercury-contaminated,
- mercury-in-glass thermometer,
- mercury-vapor lamp,
- three-seeded mercury,
- mercury-in-glass clinical thermometer