Thesaurus results for WHIMS

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 The question is whether that dash is written intentionally or at the whims of the universe. — Catherine Bell, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026 Such temperatures also ground firefighting aircraft, leaving cities, towns and forests even more vulnerable to a wildfire’s whims. — John Vaillant, Time, 8 Aug. 2026 If the project seems somewhat convoluted and unnecessarily complex, Dreier has emphasized that’s in part because the US space program has been subject to budget uncertainties and the shifting whims of presidential administrations. — Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026 This would rake in untold billions of dollars for the company — and all but ensure that its lofty, moral duty would forever be subjugated the money-making whims of Wall Street. — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 5 Aug. 2026 Google has therefore tied the ability to distribute Android apps to the whims of the US Treasury Department, which maintains and enforces economic sanctions. — Ryan Whitwam, ArsTechnica, 31 July 2026 The difference between security agencies in democracies and secret-police forces is that the former have to obey laws and not just follow the whims of the head of state. — Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 30 July 2026 That's simply not true, but recruiting involves the whims of 17-year-old super athletes, so perception is often reality in their minds. — Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 30 July 2026 Odysseus becomes a cameo in Circe’s life rather than the other way around, and the interior lives of women are more than mere fuel for the psychology and whims of troubled, great men. — Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 27 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for whims

Noun

Questioning of potential jurors captured the difficult quest of trying to find those who don’t have preconceived notions about the killing, which has been plumbed in several documentaries and countless podcasts and social media videos.

— Zoe Sottile, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026
Burden of Justice is a tense legal drama where personal lives, professional duties and shifting notions of right and wrong collide.

— Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of notions

Noun

One needed Mother Nature to bestow upon brewers the right temperatures for making beer, and in the days before refrigeration and even thermometers, that meant that brewing was largely dictated by the caprices of the seasons.

— Jay R. Brooks, Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2026
Today, every country’s economy is tied to others, but a small nation that’s as historically dependent on trade as Denmark seems particularly vulnerable to Trump’s caprices.

— Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 11 Jan. 2026

Definition of caprices

Noun

Some of the long time lag reflected the vagaries and limitations of travel in the mid-19th century, when moving family, servants, and belongings via horse and buggy in the winter months made a longer period necessary.

— Tracy Grant, Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 Aug. 2026
There is, too, a third kind of eclipse known as an annular eclipse—caused by the vagaries of the moon’s orbit.

— Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of vagaries

Noun

This is the same thing, only moms are living their I-wish-when-I-was-in-college fantasies through their daughters.

— Joe Kinsey OutKick, FOXNews.com, 11 Aug. 2026
From Churchill onward, many British leaders clung to fantasies of global power and splendid isolation from Europe, fantasies that culminated in the disaster of Brexit.

— Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 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

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“Whims.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whims. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of whims

noun

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