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
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.
