mercurial
Quick to shift
Mercurial describes rapid, unpredictable shifts in mood or behavior—someone whose temperament changes like quicksilver.
The word comes from Mercury, the swift-footed Roman messenger god, and from mercury, the liquid metal that moves erratically when spilled.
A mercurial person might be charming one moment and irritable the next: Her mercurial temperament made her difficult to work with.
The word often carries a note of brilliance alongside the volatility.
Subject to sudden changes
- volatileLiable to sudden change
- unpredictableCannot be anticipated
- changeableCapable of alteration
- moodyProne to sullenness
erratic · whimsical · inconstant · impulsive · flighty · temperamental · variable · fluctuating
Liquid metallic element
- liquid metalMetallic substance in fluid state
- HgMercury's chemical symbol
- amalgamMixture of disparate parts
- cinnabarRed mercuric sulfide ore
thermometer · barometer · sphygmomanometer · silvery · dense · toxic · heavy metal · transition metal
Olympian messenger deity
- messengerOne who delivers communications
- wingedHaving flight appendages
- swiftMoving with speed
- fleet-footedMoving with quick lightness
trickster · commerce · thieves · travelers · caduceus · Wednesday · eloquence · boundaries
Legendary substance enabling transmutation
- transmutationComplete change of form
- hermeticismAirtight, impervious condition
- elixirMythical healing draught
- magnum opusCreator's supreme achievement
Hermes Trismegistus · caduceus · quintessence · albedo · nigredo · alembic · crucible · hermetic
Persuasively articulate speaker
- quick-wittedFast at thinking
- articulateExpress clearly, or well-spoken
- glibSuperficially articulate
- fluentSpeaking smoothly, effortlessly
persuasive · facile · nimble · sharp · clever · witty · expressive · oratorical
capricious
Subject to sudden changes
- volatileLiable to sudden change
- unpredictableCannot be anticipated
- changeableCapable of alteration
moody · erratic · whimsical · inconstant · impulsive · flighty · temperamental · variable · fluctuating · unstable
quicksilver
Liquid metallic element
- liquid metalMetallic substance in fluid state
- HgMercury's chemical symbol
- amalgamMixture of disparate parts
cinnabar · thermometer · barometer · sphygmomanometer · silvery · dense · toxic · heavy metal · transition metal · vermillion
Hermes
Olympian messenger deity
fleet-footed · trickster · commerce · thieves · travelers · caduceus · Wednesday · eloquence · boundaries
philosopher's stone
Legendary substance enabling transmutation
- transmutationComplete change of form
- hermeticismAirtight, impervious condition
- elixirMythical healing draught
magnum opus · Hermes Trismegistus · caduceus · quintessence · albedo · nigredo · alembic · crucible · hermetic · esoteric
silver-tongued
Persuasively articulate speaker
- quick-wittedFast at thinking
- articulateExpress clearly, or well-spoken
- glibSuperficially articulate
fluent · persuasive · facile · nimble · sharp · clever · witty · expressive · oratorical · rhetorical
- fancy wordsgrandiloquent, magniloquent, sesquipedalian, pulchritudinous, tintinnabulation
- Volatilityvolatility, fluctuation, fluctuations, instability, unpredictability
- temperamentscholeric, phlegmatic, melancholic, sanguine, introvert
- Mythological WordsAchilles heel, Adonis, aegis, ambrosia, Apollo
- EponymsDarwinian, Alzheimer's disease, Freudian slip, cardigan, Parkinson's disease
- hot-temperedhotheaded, quick-tempered, hair-trigger, fiery, volatile
mercurialsteady
Fixed, not fluctuating
even-tempered · stable · placid · calm · equable
mercurialconstant
Fixed, unvarying quantity
unchanging · invariable · immutable · changeless · unvarying
mercurialreliable
Consistently performing as expected
dependable · predictable · consistent · steady · trustworthy