Mercurial — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

liable to sudden unpredictable change

relating to or under the (astrological) influence of the planet Mercury

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/mɜːkjˈʊɹɹɪəl/

🇬🇧British English

/mɜːkjˈʊəɹɪəl/

🇮🇳Indian English

/mɜːkjˈʊəɹɪəl/

3 syllables Say it as /mɜːkjˈʊɹɹɪəl/.

Examples

erratic behavior
fickle weather
mercurial twists of temperament

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

erratic fickle quicksilver

Parts of Speech

adjective	liable to sudden unpredictable change “erratic behavior”
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”

Word Forms

fickleness	noun	unfaithfulness by virtue of being unreliable or treacherous
Mercury	noun	(Roman mythology) messenger of Jupiter and god of commerce; counterpart of Greek Hermes
mercury	noun	a heavy silvery toxic univalent and bivalent metallic element; the only metal that is liquid at ordinary temperatures

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Quecksilber

anfällig für plötzliche unvorhersehbare Veränderungen

🇫🇷French

mercuriel

sujet à un changement soudain et imprévisible

🇮🇹Italian

mercuriale

soggetto a cambiamenti improvvisi e imprevedibili

🇳🇱Dutch

kwikachtig

onderhevig aan plotselinge, onvoorspelbare veranderingen

🇷🇺Russian

подвижный

подвержен внезапным непредсказуемым изменениям

India

🇮🇳Hindi

अस्थिर

अचानक अप्रत्याशित परिवर्तन के लिए उत्तरदायी

🇧🇩Bengali

পারদ

আকস্মিক অপ্রত্যাশিত পরিবর্তনের জন্য দায়ী

🇮🇳Tamil

பாதரசம்

எதிர்பாராத திடீர் மாற்றத்திற்கு பொறுப்பாகும்

🇮🇳Telugu

పాదరసం

ఆకస్మిక అనూహ్య మార్పుకు బాధ్యత వహిస్తుంది

🇮🇳Marathi

पारा

अचानक अप्रत्याशित बदलासाठी जबाबदार

🇮🇳Gujarati

પારાના

અચાનક અણધાર્યા ફેરફાર માટે જવાબદાર

🇮🇳Kannada

ಪಾದರಸದ

ಹಠಾತ್ ಅನಿರೀಕ್ಷಿತ ಬದಲಾವಣೆಗೆ ಹೊಣೆಗಾರನಾಗಿರುತ್ತಾನೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

മെർക്കുറിയൽ

പെട്ടെന്നുള്ള പ്രവചനാതീതമായ മാറ്റത്തിന് ബാധ്യസ്ഥനാണ്

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਪਾਰਾ

ਅਚਾਨਕ ਅਣਹੋਣੀ ਤਬਦੀਲੀ ਲਈ ਜ਼ਿੰਮੇਵਾਰ

🇵🇰Urdu

مرکری

اچانک غیر متوقع تبدیلی کا ذمہ دار

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

水银

容易遭受突然的不可预测的变化

🇯🇵Japanese

水銀の

突然の予測できない変化が起こりやすい

🇰🇷Korean

수은제

갑작스럽고 예측할 수 없는 변화에 취약함

🇻🇳Vietnamese

hay thay đổi

chịu sự thay đổi đột ngột không lường trước được

🇹🇭Thai

ปรอท

มีแนวโน้มที่จะเปลี่ยนแปลงอย่างกะทันหันอย่างไม่คาดคิด

🇮🇩Indonesian

lincah

rentan terhadap perubahan mendadak yang tidak dapat diprediksi

🇲🇾Malay

merkuri

bertanggungjawab kepada perubahan mendadak yang tidak dapat diramalkan

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

زئبقي

عرضة للتغيير المفاجئ الذي لا يمكن التنبؤ به

🇮🇷Persian

جیوه ای

در معرض تغییرات غیرقابل پیش بینی ناگهانی

🇹🇷Turkish

değişken

ani öngörülemeyen değişikliklere yatkın

🇮🇱Hebrew

כַּספִּיתִי

עלולים לשינוי פתאומי בלתי צפוי

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'mercurial'?

The primary meaning of 'mercurial' is 'liable to sudden unpredictable change'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'mercurial' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'mercurial' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'mercurial' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'mercurial' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

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