whimsy

noun

whim·​sy ˈ(h)wim-zē 

variants or less commonly whimsey

plural whimsies also whimseys

1

: whim, caprice

2

: the quality or state of being whimsical or fanciful

the designer's new line showed a touch of whimsy

3

: a fanciful or fantastic device, object, or creation especially in writing or art

Synonyms

• humor
• notion
• whim
• impression
• fantasy
• vagary
• caprice
• bee
• vagrancy
• kink
• whimsicality
• fancy
• megrim
• maggot

Examples of whimsy in a Sentence

The designer's new line showed a touch of whimsy.

a bit of decorative whimsy

Recent Examples on the Web

To further enrage Predator purists, Thia and Dek adopt a cuddly little monkey-ish creature as their companion, a CGI bit of whimsy seemingly borrowed from Pixar. —Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 4 Nov. 2025

The stage version of the beloved children’s character blinks eyes that are full of whimsy and optimism. —Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 4 Nov. 2025

There are few characters, minimal flourishes of surreality, and a complete lack of the outré whimsy that defined several of Lanthimos’s previous projects with Stone, including Poor Things and The Favourite. —Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 31 Oct. 2025

Chlöe Bailey brought the sexy as Foxxy Cleopatra, while Bowen Yang was all whimsy as Tingle from The Legend of Zelda. —Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 31 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

irregular from whim-wham

First Known Use

1605, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

whimsy

noun

whim·​sy

variants also whimsey

ˈhwim-zē 

ˈwim-

plural whimsies also whimseys

1

: whim, caprice

2

: the quality or state of being whimsical or fanciful

the designer's new line of swimwear showed a touch of whimsy

3

: an imaginative or fantastic object or creation especially in a piece of writing or art