as in whim
a sudden impulsive and apparently unmotivated idea or action
a frequent victim to the vagrancies of the heart, she had a succession of passionate but short-lived romances
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Recent Examples of vagrancy
Roughly 12% were of African descent — newly unshackled, technically free and already being legally recaptured under other names: peonage, vagrancy laws, convict leasing.
—
Jack Hill, Baltimore Sun, 17 May 2025
All the hallmarks of American poverty — bad food, obesity and urban blight — coalesced in an apocalyptic scene of destitution and vagrancy.
—Andrew Moore, New York Times, 15 May 2025
In 1932 Chicago police raided an apparent summit meeting of gangsters, and arrested Lansky and five others on vagrancy charges.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2025
The state would also kick in some funding, but that money could only be used to eliminate crime and vagrancy, according to the bill text.
—Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vagrancy
Jack Hill, Baltimore Sun, 17 May 2025
All the hallmarks of American poverty — bad food, obesity and urban blight — coalesced in an apocalyptic scene of destitution and vagrancy.
—Andrew Moore, New York Times, 15 May 2025
In 1932 Chicago police raided an apparent summit meeting of gangsters, and arrested Lansky and five others on vagrancy charges.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2025
The state would also kick in some funding, but that money could only be used to eliminate crime and vagrancy, according to the bill text.
—Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vagrancy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vagrancy
whim
Noun
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These were not just silly geographical whims, Jessica Winter pointed out at the time.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
5 Sep. 2025
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The Fed’s independence has been central to the United States’ role as the globe’s preeminent economic power; investors worldwide believe the central bank won’t act on a president’s whims.—
Jackie Calmes,
Mercury News,
30 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Vagrancy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vagrancy. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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