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mercurial

Pronunciation: /məːˈkjʊərɪəl/

Translate mercurial | into Italian
Definition of mercurial

adjective

  • 1subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind:his mercurial temperament
  • 2of or containing the element mercury: gels containing organic mercurial compounds
  • 3 (Mercurial) of the planet Mercury.

noun

  • a drug or other compound containing mercury: for twenty years organic mercurials were the most potent diuretics in clinical use

Derivatives

mercuriality

Pronunciation: /-ˈalɪti/

noun

mercurially

adverb

Origin:

late Middle English (in mercurial (sense 3 of the adjective)): from Latin mercurialis 'relating to the god Mercury', from Mercurius 'Mercury'. mercurial (sense 1 of the adjective) dates from the mid 17th century

mercurial in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of mercurial in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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