whim

[ wim, hwim ]

noun

1. an odd or capricious notion or desire; a sudden or freakish fancy:

   a sudden whim to take a midnight walk.

   Synonyms: caprice, vagary, whimsy

2. capricious humor:

   to be swayed by whim.

whim

/ wɪm /

noun

1. a sudden, passing, and often fanciful idea; impulsive or irrational thought
2. a horse-drawn winch formerly used in mining to lift ore or water

Word History and Origins

Origin of whim¹

First recorded in 1635–45; short for whim-wham

Word History and Origins

Origin of whim¹

C17: from whim-wham

Example Sentences

She hadn’t planned to study crested rat home life, but one why-not whim changed that.

From Science News

You chose a trail little bigger than a deer path, followed its whims, thinking and thinking about what seemed important then, the boyfriend.

From MIT Technology Review

Finally, organizations such as the Cloud Security Alliance and the Cloud Native Computing Foundation can help find ways for the private sector to use cloud computing globally without being stymied by the whims of digital sovereignty.

From MIT Technology Review

She’s talked about using government to create an economy that relies less on the whims of tourism.

From Voice of San Diego

I, like everyone else, am subjected to the whims of leaders.

From Ozy

That was 2010, when Williamson was seven, less than two years after painting his first picture on a whim.

From The Daily Beast

And neither he, nor his secret police squad or some lawyer from Detroit, get to change that unilaterally on a whim.

From The Daily Beast

Was it really, as I suspected, ordered on a whim by some yahoo who was deeply affected by a childhood encounter with Grave Digger?

From The Daily Beast

These demands can increase at whim, and worsen with the birth of a child.

From The Daily Beast

She was distraught and sad walking through a park on Long Island when she joined a drum circle on a whim.

From The Daily Beast

She was not a puffer, but a puffer-whim worked near by, called the Valley puffer.

From Project Gutenberg

This is some passing whim of your wife, due to some cause or causes which you and I needn't try to fathom.

From Project Gutenberg

In short, he may gratify his every whim and fancy, without a pang of reposing conscience, or the least jostle of his self-respect.

From Project Gutenberg

Here, every stroke was to be recorded, each passing whim and mood registered, as in a book of fate.

From Project Gutenberg

She paid no thought to the value of money, never knowing how to resist a whim.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• impulse
• inclination
• vagary