Definition of WHIMSICAL

Other Words from whimsical

whimsicality \ ˌhwim-zə-ˈka-lə-tē

, ˌwim- \ noun

whimsically \ ˈhwim-zi-k(ə-)lē

, ˈwim- \ adverb

whimsicalness \ ˈhwim-zi-kəl-nəs

, ˈwim- \ noun

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.

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 on the Web

Other parts of the culture surrounding the exchange are less whimsical. — David Hodari, Joe Wallace, WSJ, "Hey Traders, It’s 2019—No More Drinking on the Job," 14 June 2019 The site always maintained a whimsical, meta nature for the larger geek world and internet fandom. — Andrew Liptak, The Verge, "ThinkGeek.com is shutting down and that’s a damn shame," 14 June 2019 Da Silva found Kichler through Instagram and was taken with the artist’s digital renderings of houses with whimsical designs over them, including big, graphic flowers. — Tony Bravo, SFChronicle.com, "SF’s short-lived Flower House shows fleeting nature of social media celebrity," 11 June 2019 On arrival, guests are offered licorice and burdock root Skin Tea from local company Masha Tea, before settling into the whimsical waiting area designed by Vincent Martinelli of Spatial Relations. — Prue Lewington, Harper's BAZAAR, "Women Are Giving Up Botox for Facial Massage," 23 May 2019 If you’re drawn to that kind of bright, whimsical art, McKenzie’s (whose artist alias is Mac Blackout) one night show this Saturday at Uncle Art Gallery is a must-see. — Morgan Smith, chicagotribune.com, "Mac Blackout brings street art with a flair to Uncle Art Gallery," 13 July 2018 This wacky and whimsical approach to design is a complete fantasy; it’s purpose is to engage and inspire but also to tap into our psyche. — Ingrid Abramovitch, ELLE Decor, "Behold the Campiest Rooms of All Time," 7 May 2019 Zac designed this bustier to be angelic and whimsical. — Glamour, "Nina Dobrev's Met Gala 2019 Look Was 3D-Printed to Her Exact Measurements," 7 May 2019 From a beauty standpoint, makeup artist Sheika Daley kept it sweet and simple, yet still fun and whimsical with a layer of sky-blue shadow by Lancôme swept across her lids and subtly traced along her lower lashline to match her blue gown. — Kaleigh Fasanella, Allure, "Zendaya Is Literally — Literally — Cinderella at the 2019 Met Gala," 7 May 2019

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.