whimsical
American
adjective
-
spontaneously fanciful or playful
-
given to whims; capricious
-
quaint, unusual, or fantastic
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of whimsical
Explanation
Whimsical means full of or characterized by whims, which are odd ideas that usually occur to you very suddenly. If you decide at the last minute to fly to Europe, you could say you went there on a whim. Whimsical can also mean tending toward odd or unpredictable behavior. Both whimsical and whim are derived from an earlier English word whim-wham, which is of unknown origin. Whim-wham had about the same meaning as whim, but could also refer to an odd object or piece of clothing.
Vocabulary lists containing whimsical
Grade 10, List 5
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The Handmaid's Tale
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100 SAT words Beginning with W,X,Y, and Z
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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.
Your meal might involve entering a whimsical Italian restaurant through a bathroom, or eating a 10-course menu of fine Korean food at a former underground barbershop.
From Slate ● Oct. 13, 2026
For decades, the town has relied on finding houses by their whimsical nicknames.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
"Rather than small, whimsical changes, you'd think there would be an overall plan for a town and that has to start to with accessibility."
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
While Washburn does tour with a small band, whenever possible, he is by himself, off the grid, out surfing, camping or embarking on whimsical construction projects.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
He has a French face, lean, whimsical, all planes and angles, with creases around the mouth where he smiles.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
