Quicksilver

//ˈkwɪkˌsɪlvɚ// adj, noun, verb

adj, noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The metal mercury. uncountable
  2. 2
    a heavy silvery toxic univalent and bivalent metallic element; the only metal that is liquid at ordinary temperatures wordnet
  3. 3
    An amalgam of mercury and tin applied to the backs of mirrors, quicksilvering. broadly, uncountable
Verb
  1. 1
    To overlay with quicksilver. transitive
  2. 2
    To treat with quicksilver. transitive
Adjective
  1. 1
    Unpredictable, erratic or fickle; mercurial. not-comparable

    "Summer is not the most auspicious season for theater in New York. Aside from a few certifiable Broadway hits, it is, in fact, a rather quicksilver commodity."

Adjective
  1. 1
    liable to sudden unpredictable change wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
changeablehydrargyrummercurymercuryactiveactivist

Example

More examples

"Quicksilver, always liquid, corrodes metals."

Etymology

From Middle English quyk silver, quyksilver, quikselver, from Old English cwicseolfor (“quicksilver”, literally “living silver”) (see Latin argentum vīvum) from its ability to move. See quick in the sense of "living". Cognate with Dutch kwikzilver, German Low German Quicksülver, German Quecksilber, Danish kviksølv, Norwegian Bokmål kvikksølv, Swedish kvicksilver. By surface analysis, quick (“living”) + silver.

Related phrases

quicksilver horizonquicksilver plasterquicksilver soapquicksilver waterquicksilver weed

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.