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Showing results for quicksilver. Search instead for quicksilvery.
Synonyms

quicksilver

American  
[kwik-sil-ver] / ˈkwɪkˌsɪl vər /

noun

  1. the metallic element mercury.

verb (used with object)

  1. to amalgamate (metal) with mercury.

quicksilver British  
/ ˈkwɪkˌsɪlvə /

noun

  1. another name for mercury

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

  1. rapid or unpredictable in movement or change

    a quicksilver temper
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • quicksilvery adjective

Etymology

Origin of quicksilver

before 1000; Middle English qwyksilver, Old English cwicseolfor (translation Latin argentum vīvum ) literally, living silver

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

All would be lost, however, without Mays’ quicksilver brilliance — the way he can shift from savage irony to vindictive rage to godless despair in the space of a line.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026

That combination of hard-running forward and quicksilver backs, connecting with superb handling skills, was in evidence again and again.

From BBC • Sep. 13, 2025

Also known as quicksilver, mercury is a neurotoxin that can affect the nervous system and kidneys, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2025

Above all, he was fast, possessed of that urgent, quicksilver sort of speed that carries with it an air of permanent menace.

From New York Times • Oct. 27, 2023

Hers changes from gossamer to quicksilver to a stormy blue.

From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.