whims

noun

plural of whim
as in notions
a sudden impulsive and apparently unmotivated idea or action on a whim, we stopped at the roadside stand to get ice cream

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of whims President Veto can’t be allowed to hold our country hostage to his maniacal whims anymore. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 7 Nov. 2026 That puts it at the whims of company climate policies, which can shift with political winds. — Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 6 Nov. 2026 Critically, this legislation should protect allies from the whims of future presidents. — Theodore Bunzel, Foreign Affairs, 2 Nov. 2026 Shaw’s witty drawing-room debates also warn of a society indulging its whims as catastrophe approaches — a question of how to live when the world careens toward darkness. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026 While mega oil and gas companies pay for some of the greatest intelligence in the world, even the world's greatest intelligence gatherers are subject to the whims of rogues with missile launchers. — Brian Sullivan, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026 From here on out, the authorship of Tae-ju’s life is ambiguous, as well as constantly in flux, buffeted by the whims and suggestions of others, as well as by her own impulses. — Guy Lodge, Variety, 14 Oct. 2026 But elevating the whims of progressive activists and government bureaucrats above the wisdom of the marketplace has proven a costly mistake and undermined consumer choice. — Arkansas Online, 5 Oct. 2026 All of this makes the recent terminations tricky for OpenAI and shows that safety disclosures are still very much at the whims of the labs. — Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whims
  1. notions
  2. caprices
  3. vagaries
  4. fantasies
  5. whimsies
Noun
  • In the original cut, these notions of destiny, as laid out by Rama’s chat with Bharat, set the protagonist and antagonist on an unavoidable collision course.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, IndieWire, 5 Nov. 2026
  • When pressed about notions that the crypto industry is more friendly to Republicans, Allaire said crypto's push into the mainstream has brought parties to the table that are important across the political spectrum.
    — Spencer Kimball,Garrett Downs,Dan Mangan,Kevin Breuninger,Justin Papp, CNBC, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of notions
Noun
  • Ye-ji has a hunky hedge-fund-type husband, Sang-woo (Zo In-sung), who condescendingly tolerates, but doesn’t finance, his wife’s cinematic caprices.
    — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2026
  • But Gurdon doesn’t hold up the caprices and improvisations of her childhood as either a model or a cautionary tale.
    — Danny Heitman, Christian Science Monitor, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of caprices
Noun
  • Our reality is Swift’s nightmare of statistics and algorithms; mechanization and industrialization as commenced without any concern for the vagaries of the beating human heart.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Romantic metaphors, too, come in handy, alluding to the vagaries of appetite and compatibility and taste.
    — Maggie Shipstead, Longreads, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of vagaries
Noun
  • The Cybertruck was a car built for the paranoid fantasies that have gripped so much of a country destabilized by generations of economic theft.
    — Jack Crosbie, Rolling Stone, 7 Nov. 2026
  • The Gilded Age’s third season and fourth-season premiere have spent a significant amount of time spinning cotton-candy fantasies of romance.
    — The Editors, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of fantasies
Noun
  • In honor of Valentine’s Day, Stephanie also has a story on the whimsies created by chocolate artist Chris Ford at his West Hollywood pop-up shop.
    — Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 14 Feb. 2026
  • In The Girlfriend, the truth is malleable, open to change based on our biases, judgments, whimsies, and desires.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2025
Definition of whimsies

Browse Nearby Words

whimpers
whims
whimsical
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Whims.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whims. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

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