| Library / English Dictionary |
QUICKSILVER
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A heavy silvery toxic univalent and bivalent metallic element; the only metal that is liquid at ordinary temperatures
Synonyms:
atomic number 80; Hg; hydrargyrum; mercury; quicksilver
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("quicksilver" is a kind of...):
metal; metallic element (any of several chemical elements that are usually shiny solids that conduct heat or electricity and can be formed into sheets etc.)
Holonyms ("quicksilver" is a substance of...):
cinnabar (a heavy reddish mineral consisting of mercuric sulfide; the chief source of mercury)
calomel; mercurous chloride (a tasteless colorless powder used medicinally as a cathartic)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Liable to sudden unpredictable change
Example:
a quicksilver character, cool and willful at one moment, utterly fragile the next
Synonyms:
erratic; fickle; mercurial; quicksilver
Classified under:
Similar:
changeable; changeful (such that alteration is possible; having a marked tendency to change)
