whimsical

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

|Updated on: 21 Jun 2018

Examples: whimsical in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Trace whimsical Back to the 16th Century

Definition of whimsical

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

whimsical decorations

b : subject to erratic behavior or unpredictable change

2 : full of, actuated by, or exhibiting whims

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whimsicality

play \ˌhwim-zə-ˈka-lə-tē, ˌwim-\ noun

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whimsically

play \ˈhwim-zi-k(ə-)lē, ˈwim-\ adverb

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whimsicalness

play \ˈhwim-zi-kəl-nəs, ˈwim-\ noun

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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

Your nephew can circulate with his camera for whimsical candid shots: famished guests loading up buffet plates, exuberant dancers in the conga line, the flower girls gleefully poking their fingers in the wedding cake.

— steven p. dinkin, sandiegouniontribune.com, "A wedding gift from a teenage photographer," 17 June 2018
But more than just a Pixar appetizer, the short is a whimsical love letter to mothers as well as food.

— tracy brown, latimes.com, "How 'Bao' director Domee Shi stayed true to her 'weird' idea and created a specifically Asian story," 16 June 2018
By depicting the corruption and whimsical cruelty of the Ottoman Empire, Mr. Kadare smuggles in a damning appraisal of Albanian Communism.

— sam sacks, WSJ, "Ismail Kadare: The Conscience of His People," 15 June 2018
Don’t miss: The whimsical garden with views and sculpture around every corner.

— emma silvers, San Francisco Chronicle, "Your guide to the best bars to hit on Pride weekend," 14 June 2018
The movie, directed by Jeff Tomsic and written by Rob McKittrick and Mark Steilen, is based on a true story—a Wall Street Journal article about a whimsical game of tag that lasted 23 years.

— david sims, The Atlantic, "Tag, You’re Not It," 14 June 2018
That means the Sunland tree’s fate could be a harbinger of a future without these whimsical, beloved trees.

— National Geographic, "Africa's Oldest Trees Are Dying, and Scientists Are Stumped," 11 June 2018
Two award-winning authors have teamed up to create a delightfully whimsical tale that begs to be read with a friend.

— The Christian Science Monitor, "4 delightful new books for middle-grade readers," 7 June 2018
It may be covered up for a little while by an elegant tapestry – or whimsical purses and shoes.

— byron mccauley, Cincinnati.com, "Kate Spade: Her death can help those suffering from mental illness," 7 June 2018

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.