1
as in whim
a sudden impulsive and apparently unmotivated idea or action
an out-of-character caprice led him to take the day off from work and go to the beach
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in impulsiveness
an inclination to sudden illogical changes of mind, ideas, or actions
his knack for picking racetrack winners appears to owe as much to caprice as it does to a canny assessment of horseflesh
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of caprice
Some are desperate to look like players by moving into the various Overton windows stretched by Trumpian caprice.
—
Washington Post, 23 Jan. 2026
Every day, by caprice, the lives of ordinary, law-abiding people—our neighbors—are being destroyed.
—Erin Neil, New Yorker, 21 Jan. 2026
Companies that once worried primarily about exchange rates and regulatory compliance now face a bewildering array of threats: trade wars, sanctions, export controls, nationalist boycotts, and the caprices of populist leaders who prize political theater over economic rationality.
—Bobby Ghosh, Time, 18 Jan. 2026
Much of Trump’s governance reflects his own moral and political caprice.
—Anthony Dominguez, Sun Sentinel, 5 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for caprice
Washington Post, 23 Jan. 2026
Every day, by caprice, the lives of ordinary, law-abiding people—our neighbors—are being destroyed.
—Erin Neil, New Yorker, 21 Jan. 2026
Companies that once worried primarily about exchange rates and regulatory compliance now face a bewildering array of threats: trade wars, sanctions, export controls, nationalist boycotts, and the caprices of populist leaders who prize political theater over economic rationality.
—Bobby Ghosh, Time, 18 Jan. 2026
Much of Trump’s governance reflects his own moral and political caprice.
—Anthony Dominguez, Sun Sentinel, 5 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for caprice
Recent Examples of Synonyms for caprice
Noun
-
Washington was never meant to be an anthology of presidential whims.—
Israel Melendez Ayala,
Time,
6 May 2026
-
Farming has always been a challenging endeavor, one that operates at the whim of external forces but with little margin for setbacks.—
The Virginian Pilot And Daily Press Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
3 May 2026
Noun
-
That impulsiveness was on display last year when the president pushed the Texas state legislature to gerrymander its electoral maps before the midterms in the hope of maintaining Republican control of Congress.—
Jason Willick,
Washington Post,
26 Apr. 2026
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Malcolm's daughter is struggling in life and school, but her father's genetic toolkit only has belligerence, impulsiveness and thickheadedness, passed on by his on-screen parents.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Her capriciousness leads her into an affair with a frustrated professor, Mark (Michael Angarano), who compliments her writing and composes pretentious, backhandedly insulting poems about their not-quite-love.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Whether out of arrogance, capriciousness, or collective amnesia, this recent history was ignored.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
13 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Caprice.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/caprice. Accessed 15 May. 2026.
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