caprice

American  

[kuh-prees] / kəˈpris /

noun

caprices plural

1. a sudden, unpredictable change, as of one's mind or the weather.

   Synonyms:

   fancy, whim, notion, vagary

2. a tendency to change one's mind without apparent or adequate motive; whimsicality; capriciousness.

   With the caprice of a despotic king, he alternated between kindness and cruelty.

3. Music. capriccio.

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caprice British  

/ kəˈpriːs /

noun

1. a sudden or unpredictable change of attitude, behaviour, etc; whim

2. a tendency to such changes

3. another word for capriccio

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• caprices
  plural

Etymology

Origin of caprice

First recorded in 1660–70; from French, from Italian; see capriccio

Explanation

On a whim, he sold everything and left the city for the beautiful wilderness of Alaska, but his act of caprice felt a lot less whimsical when he realized how freezing cold Alaska is. The word caprice has its roots in the French for "whim," which comes from the Italian word capriccio for "fright" or "sudden start." A caprice can be just a fun impulsive act, but it also can be something done on a quick whim, without thinking it through or preparing for the change in direction. Having a sudden liking, or caprice, for someone or something can be short-lived too.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

caprice caprices

But we live now at the intersection of presidential instinct and personal caprice.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2025

It told the BBC that COP presidents are "expected to act without bias, prejudice, favouritism, caprice, self-interest, preference or deference, strictly based on sound, independent and fair judgement".

From BBC ● Nov. 27, 2023

It wasn’t “if” early America would fall back under tyranny, the lawless caprice of monarchy, but when.

From Salon ● Nov. 24, 2023

But to mitigate the enormous disruption, the transition cannot be left entirely to the caprice of employers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2023

One newspaper editor had sagely, if cynically, observed that “the usual custom is for the capital of new empires to be selected by the whim or caprice of a despot.”

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

There are plenty of times you don't want to be exposed to the individual prejudices and caprices of human beings.

From Salon ● Apr. 26, 2025

They’re long accustomed to caprices of Mother Nature that can spoil an entire alfalfa cutting with a downpour or generate an especially big yield with a string of blistering days.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 27, 2023

And they don’t want their money riding on the foibles and caprices of human officials.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 15, 2021

The answer depends greatly on players’ and coaches’ individual discipline, the caprices of a viral scourge and the power wielded by players, who are using it, across all sports, like never before.

From New York Times ● Sep. 10, 2020

But, “in order to secure themselves the better from its “intrusion, your predecessors surrounded them- “selves with skilful doctors, whom they commanded “not to teach duties, but to justify caprices.

From The Power Of The Popes by Daunou, Pierre Claude Fran?ois