whimsical

play

adjective whim·si·cal \ ˈhwim-zi-kəl , ˈwim- \

Definition of whimsical

1 :full of, actuated by, or exhibiting whims

2 a :resulting from or characterized by whim or caprice; especially :lightly fanciful

whimsical decorations

b :subject to erratic behavior or unpredictable change

—

whimsicality

play \ˌhwim-zə-ˈka-lə-tē, ˌwim-\ noun

—

whimsically

play \ˈhwim-zi-k(ə-)lē, ˈwim-\ adverb

—

whimsicalness

play \ˈhwim-zi-kəl-nəs, ˈwim-\ noun

See whimsical defined for English-language learners

See whimsical defined for kids

whimsical was our Word of the Day on 01/19/2017. Hear the podcast!

Examples of whimsical in a Sentence

You can practically taste the tropics in these whimsical doughnuts. Ripe bananas, toasted coconut and your favorite rum transform traditional doughnuts into paradisiacal ones. —Janice Wald Henderson, Chocolatier, March 2001
Unlike the broad slapstick humor of Musical Mose and other early Herriman strips, Krazy Kat was gentle, fey, and whimsical. —Jeet Heer, Lingua Franca, September 2001
In the whimsical linguistics of theoretical physics, the "naked" electron is an imaginary object cut off from the influences of the field, whereas a "dressed" electron carries the imprint of the universe, but it is all buried in extremely tiny modifications to its bare properties. —Leon Lederman et al., The God Particle, 1993
She has a whimsical sense of humor.
it's hard to make plans with such a whimsical best friend

Recent Examples of whimsical from the Web

The American airport is a case study of the herd mentality, where waiting and woe have replaced whimsical and wishful.

— adam popescu, vanityfair.com, "Inside the Private, Celebrity-Friendly Terminal at LAX," 16 Aug. 2017
Lynn’s was, after all, an unmistakably original concept, the decor and atmosphere equal parts eccentric and whimsical.

— lindsey mcclave, The Courier-Journal, "BBQ joint taking over Lynn's Paradise site is 'generally' pleasing | Review," 16 Aug. 2017
In the early days, the shortages seemed almost whimsical.

— Washington Post, "Departing AP reporter looks back at Venezuela’s," 2 Aug. 2017
In the early days, the shortages seemed almost whimsical.

— hannah dreier, The Seattle Times, "Departing AP reporter looks back at Venezuela’s," 1 Aug. 2017
There was nothing quite like '80s fashion, with its whimsical earrings, velour tube tops, and all-neon-everything—and no pastime quite as entertaining as looking back on all of these distinct styles with fondness (and some distance).

— jessica radloff, Glamour, "Netflix's 'Glow' Brings Back The Most Delightful '80s Fashion," 14 July 2017
There are the whimsical socks (the easiest way to seamlessly wear KFC pride).

— christine flammia, Esquire, "Wait, Is It Possible That KFC's Merch Line Does Not Suck?," 12 July 2017
The old guard viewed new recruits as unprepared for Loot Crate’s whimsical, fast-changing environment.

— paresh dave, Philly.com, "Loot Crate became the nation's fastest-growing startup, then it laid off over a quarter of its staff," 5 July 2017
Think again: the 19-year-old actress can also do whimsical and fun, as evidenced by her ridiculously adorable ensembles for London and then Barcelona:

— lilian min, Cosmopolitan, "Zendaya Can't Stop Serving Up Looks on the Spider-Man: Homecoming Press Tour," 30 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'whimsical.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Trace whimsical Back to the 16th Century

As you may have guessed, the words whimsical, whim, and whimsy are related. All three ultimately derive from the word whim-wham ("a whimsical object" or "a whim"), which is of unknown origin and dates to at least 1500. Whimsy was the first of the three to spin off from whim-wham, debuting in print in 1605. English speakers then added the adjective suffix -ical to whimsy to create whimsical, dating from 1653. Whim, which came about as a shortened version of whim-wham, appeared as early as 1641 in a sense that is now obsolete, but its current sense of "a sudden wish, desire, or change of mind" didn't appear in print until 1686.