Definition of whimsical
From the M-W Editors
whimsical was our Word of the Day on 01/19/2017. Hear the podcast!
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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
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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).
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The old guard viewed new recruits as unprepared for Loot Crate’s whimsical, fast-changing environment.
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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:
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The short follows Morgansen on a whimsical date to the Zeppelin Zoo with lady love Destiny (Lexy Hulme).
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Created by Professor Layton developer Level-5 and animated by former Studio Ghibli animator Yoshiyuki Momose, Ni No Kuni 2 picks up where its predecessor left off, combining a whimsical story and stunning visuals with traditional RPG design.
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To her, the doors were so much more than whimsical decorations.
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Frampton’s whimsical carpentry projects have helped her build community in Utah.
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Tabletop designs featured high-low neon lighting in a variety of colors and whimsical shapes, some reaching over 4 feet tall.
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.
Origin and Etymology of whimsical
whimsy
WHIMSICAL Defined for English Language Learners
whimsical
playDefinition of whimsical for English Language Learners
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: unusual in a playful or amusing way : not serious
WHIMSICAL Defined for Kids
whimsical
playDefinition of whimsical for Students
1 : full of whims
2 : unusual in a playful or amusing way a whimsical tale of youth
Learn More about whimsical
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for whimsical Spanish Central: Translation of whimsical Nglish: Translation of whimsical for Spanish speakers
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