Definition of WHIMSICAL

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 The whimsical Elf balloon was used for the first time in the 2000 parade. — Emily Vanschmus, Better Homes & Gardens, "The Most Iconic Photos from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade," 12 Aug. 2020 But tucked behind the whimsical storefronts lies the infrastructure to increase literacy and tell the stories of cities like Dallas, said Doug Keller, 826 National’s network growth director. — Dallas News, "UNT Dallas to bring 826, a whimsical writing center, to southern Dallas," 12 Aug. 2020 With a range of eye-catching colors and whimsical twin tails, this kite is a whole 60-inch wide and will undoubtedly stand out in the sky. — Popular Science, "The best kites to seize windy days," 11 Aug. 2020 In the new campaign, Paltrow dons a whimsical black and white polka dotted two piece, complete with an A-line skirt and matching top that retail for $425 and $295 respectively. — Roxanne Adamiyatt, Town & Country, "Goop's Latest G.Label Campaign Stars Three Generations of Paltrow Ladies," 10 Aug. 2020 His La Jolla yard, a couple doors up from Muirlands Middle School, is a garden of whimsical, organic sculptures. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Column: Sculptor lets his hands speak about George Floyd’s death," 7 Aug. 2020 Hoosier hospitality and Indy 500 pride intersect in multimedia pieces that range from nostalgic to futuristic, from subdued to colorful and from whimsical to dignified. — David Lindquist, The Indianapolis Star, "'Welcome Race Fans' fine art prints are souvenirs to commemorate one-of-a-kind Indy 500," 6 Aug. 2020 So Akers looked for whimsical costumes with a shine/sparkle element. — Marcus Jones, EW.com, "Black Is King costume designer breaks down six striking Beyoncé outfits," 6 Aug. 2020 His whimsical way of connecting with students has not only given them a laugh, but also a fresh perspective on how to make the best of this fall's uncertainty. — Kiely Westhoff, CNN, "An Alabama high school principal turned 'U Can't Touch This' into Covid-19 safety video," 4 Aug. 2020

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.