whimsical

[hwim-zi-kuhl, wim-]

adjective

1. given to whimsy or fanciful notions; capricious.

   a pixyish, whimsical fellow.

2. of the nature of or proceeding from whimsy, as thoughts or actions.

   Her writing showed whimsical notions of human behavior.

3. erratic; unpredictable.

   He was too whimsical with regard to his work.

whimsical

/ ˌwɪmzɪˈkælɪtɪ, ˈwɪmzɪkəl /

adjective

1. spontaneously fanciful or playful

2. given to whims; capricious

3. quaint, unusual, or fantastic

Other Word Forms

• whimsically adverb
• unwhimsical adjective
• unwhimsically adverb
• unwhimsicalness noun
• whimsicalness noun
• whimsicality noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of whimsical¹

First recorded in 1645–55; whims(y) + -ical

Example Sentences

Crump is responsible, for instance, for the whimsical facade of It’s a Small World.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In the architectural age of minimalism and millennial gray, a wild and whimsical antidote made of old clinker bricks and jumbled shingles sits on a quiet street at the edge of L.A. and Culver City.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

A good story requires characters, and Mr. Kukushkin personifies atoms, chemicals, even entire biological kingdoms, using whimsical drama to illustrate fundamental principles of biochemistry.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In conferences to decide cases, they’d sometimes pass around whimsical props like a clothespin to signal members to “hold their noses” and vote unanimously to project institutional solidarity.

Read more on Salon

Though the scene seems like something out of a movie, it is in fact a whimsical sleepover at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• amusing 
• comical 
• droll 
• eccentric 
• funny 
• mischievous 
• odd 
• unusual 
• weird