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
DoBetterDNVR seeks to hold city government accountable for enabling lawless behavior like vagrancy, public drug use, urban camping, and vandalism by exposing and posting it, a laudable aim, but its means are less than ethical.
—
Krista Kafer, Denver Post, 19 Aug. 2025
The rise in vagrancy, open drug use, aggressive panhandling, indecent exposure and public health hazards have made downtown residents feel increasingly unsafe in their own city.
—Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 11 Aug. 2025
Rustin served jail time and was posthumously pardoned Rustin was arrested 23 times, including a 1953 conviction in Pasadena, for vagrancy and lewd conduct — charges commonly used then to criminalize LGBTQ+ people.
—Jaylen Green, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2025
They were arrested on marijuana and lewd vagrancy charges.
—Victoria Edel, People.com, 18 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for vagrancy
Krista Kafer, Denver Post, 19 Aug. 2025
The rise in vagrancy, open drug use, aggressive panhandling, indecent exposure and public health hazards have made downtown residents feel increasingly unsafe in their own city.
—Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 11 Aug. 2025
Rustin served jail time and was posthumously pardoned Rustin was arrested 23 times, including a 1953 conviction in Pasadena, for vagrancy and lewd conduct — charges commonly used then to criminalize LGBTQ+ people.
—Jaylen Green, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2025
They were arrested on marijuana and lewd vagrancy charges.
—Victoria Edel, People.com, 18 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for vagrancy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vagrancy
whim
Noun
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Living in the White House is usually made easy by all of the staff who work to deliver on any presidential whim—maybe a little mayhem is good for the people in power.—
Nicholas Florko,
The Atlantic,
26 Feb. 2026
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These guardrails exist to ensure trade policy is grounded in evidence and congressional intent rather than presidential whim.—
Mohammad N. Elahee,
Hartford Courant,
24 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Vagrancy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vagrancy. Accessed 6 Mar. 2026.
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