Meaning & use
mercurial
Last updated
having rapidly and unpredictably changing moods or behavior
See it in a sentence
The chef's mercurial temper made the kitchen staff nervous.
Her mercurial moods swung from joy to frustration within minutes.
A note on using this word
Comes from Mercury, the swift Roman messenger god; it can also describe something quick and lively, though the 'unpredictable mood' sense is most common today.
Words with a similar meaning
volatiletemperamental
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
stableeven-tempered
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