quicksilver
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
noun
adjective
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
Expect a similarly powerful forward pack, with some quicksilver runners and astute playmakers in the backline.
From BBC • Aug. 20, 2025
Because Bordeaux's backline, marshalled by the quicksilver Mathieu Jalibert and laced with the pace of Penaud and Louis Bielle-Biarrey, is the most dangerous in the competition off turnover ball and in broken field.
From BBC • May 24, 2025
Prosecutors, too, seemed sometimes frustrated by both the quicksilver pace of her answers — she is a fast talker, with little filter — and the consistent objections by the defense, many of which Merchan upheld.
From New York Times • May 7, 2024
Her forehead was beaded with metallic sweat, like quicksilver.
From "The Titan's Curse" by Rick Riordan
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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.