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GRE vocabulary

mercurial

adjectiveHigh-frequency wordMore M words

subject to sudden and unpredictable changes of mood

Word origin: From Latin Mercurius, the swift Roman god.

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In a sentence

Mercurial in a sentence

Here are example sentences showing mercurial in a sentence.

Her mercurial temperament made it hard to predict how she would react.

The director's mercurial temperament kept the cast on edge, since praise could turn to fury within a single rehearsal.

Antonyms
stablesteadyconstant

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Verbal · Text Completion

The historian argued that the empire's collapse was not blank but the predictable outcome of decades of fiscal mismanagement that contemporaries had simply refused to acknowledge.

Select the word that best completes the sentence.

Usage & nuance

Using “mercurial” well

Mercurial describes someone whose moods shift suddenly and unpredictably, echoing the swift god Mercury and the restless metal. It often implies liveliness as well as instability.

Common questions

Questions about “mercurial”

Mercurial (adjective) means subject to sudden and unpredictable changes of mood
Here is mercurial used in an example sentence: "Her mercurial temperament made it hard to predict how she would react." Another example: "The director's mercurial temperament kept the cast on edge, since praise could turn to fury within a single rehearsal."
Common synonyms for mercurial include volatile, capricious, fickle, erratic.
Antonyms of mercurial include stable, steady, constant.
Mercurial clusters with volatile, capricious, fickle, and erratic. Its antonyms stable, steady, and constant mark the opposite trait.
Yes. Mercurial is a high-frequency GRE word, so it is worth prioritising as you build your vocabulary.

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