mercurial

adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“mercurial” is uncommon Portuguese (frequency #84,889 among 2,261 “M” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#84,889
frequency rank, Portuguese
2,261
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - referente ao mercúrio ou a Mercúrio

Key facts for mercurial
PropertyValue
Headwordmercurial
LanguagePortuguese
Part of speechAdjective
Letters9
Frequency rank#84,889
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “mercurial” sits in Portuguese frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). mercurial lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

mercurial is uncommon Portuguese at frequency #84,889 among 2,261 “M” headwords, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for mercurial in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct Portuguese form is mercurial, spelled M-E-R-C-U-R-I-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    referente ao mercúrio ou a Mercúrio
  2. 2
    que contém mercúrio; mercurioso
  3. 3
    impulsivo, explosivo, que facilmente se agita ou se enfurece

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Portuguese corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "mercurial"?
"mercurial" is spelled M-E-R-C-U-R-I-A-L.
What does "mercurial" mean?
As an adjective, "mercurial" means: referente ao mercúrio ou a Mercúrio
What language does "mercurial" come from?
"mercurial" is a Portuguese word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “mercurial”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct Portuguese spelling is M-E-R-C-U-R-I-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more Portuguese words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Portuguese words

Other uncommon Portuguese words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list