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The Roman god Mercury 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. Mercurial comes from the Latin adjective mercurialis, meaning "of or relating to Mercury."
Synonyms
Example Sentences
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
By
dustin Volz, WSJ, 26 June 2023
This sanctuary is a challenging place, desolate much of the year, with one of the world’s most mercurial rainfall patterns—relentless droughts followed by sudden drenching floods.
—Abigail Tucker, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 June 2023
Bottega Veneta, too, experienced record growth under the mercurial designer Daniel Lee, who exited the brand under a flurry of controversy in November 2021 (and was recently announced as Burberry’s new creative director), and was then replaced with his second-in-command Matthieu Blazy.
—Rachel Tashjian, Harper's BAZAAR, 23 Nov. 2022
There’s a new wrinkle in the six-month-plus saga of Elon Musk’s mercurial attempt to buy Twitter.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 14 Oct. 2022
San Francisco can be a mercurial play with Jimmy Garoppolo under center, but the Panthers may be the worst team in the entire league.
—Richard Morin, USA TODAY, 9 Oct. 2022
The moment daisies open, The hour mercurial rainwater Makes a mirror for sparrows.
—Teresa M. Hanafin, BostonGlobe.com, 4 June 2023
The 30-year-old English actor plays mercurial soccer striker Jamie Tartt on Apple TV+ smash hit Ted Lasso, and portraying a world-class athlete takes sweat and effort.
—Brett Williams, Men's Health, 16 Mar. 2023
Pretty much everyone in her immediate circle is sympathetically concerned by Lindy’s suddenly mercurial, secretive demeanor.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 14 Mar. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mercurial.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Mercurial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mercurial. Accessed 9 Jul. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
mercurial
adjective
Medical Definition
mercurial
1 of 2 adjective
mercurial
2 of 2 noun
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