Standard Lemma guide

whimsical

adj · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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Received-Pronunciation: /ˈwɪmzɪkəl/
US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET: W IH1 M Z IH0 K AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
CMU ARPABET 2: HH W IH1 M Z IH0 K AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

adj

Meaning 1

Given to whimsy.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: idiosyncratic, outlandish, peculiar, pixilated, playful, quirky, unconventional, witty, amusing, bright, diverting, droll, entertaining, humorous, jocose, jocular, piquant, quick, quick on the draw, quick-witted, sharp, tongue-in-cheek

Antonyms: none provided

adjective satellite

Meaning 2

determined by chance or impulse or whim rather than by necessity or reason

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

a capricious refusal
authoritarian rulers are frequently capricious
the victim of whimsical persecutions

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: capricious, impulsive

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English whimsy Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icuslbor. Old French -iquebor. Middle English -ic Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālisbor. Old French -albor. ▲ Latin -ālis Old French -elbor. ▲ Latin -ālisbor. Middle English -al Middle English -ical English -ical English whimsical From whimsy + -ical.

Across languages

Translations

61 source translations are retained for this English entry.

Afrikaans: wispelturig — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Bulgarian: капризен (kaprizen) — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Bulgarian: своенравен (svoenraven) — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Bulgarian: причудлив (pričudliv) — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Dutch: vreemd — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Dutch: willekeurig — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Dutch: curieus — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Dutch: speels — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Dutch: luchtig — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Finnish: oikutteleva — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Finnish: oikukas — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Finnish: huvittava — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
French: capricieux — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
French: étrange — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
French: drôle — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
French: amusant — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
French: lunatique — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Galician: caprichoso — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
German: launenhaft — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
German: spielerisch — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
German: launisch — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
German: schrullig — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
German: drollig — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
German: wunderlich — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
German: seltsam — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
German: skurril — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
German: originell — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Hebrew: שובבני (Shovevani) — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Hungarian: szeszélyes — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Ido: ridinda — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Irish: earráideach — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Irish: meonúil — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Irish: spangach — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Irish: teidheach — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Italian: capriccioso — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Italian: strano — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Italian: peculiare — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Italian: sconcertante — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Italian: divertente — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Italian: buffo — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Norwegian: rar — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Norwegian: sær — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Polish: kapryśny — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Polish: dziwaczny — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Portuguese: caprichoso — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Portuguese: extravagante — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Portuguese: divertido — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Russian: капри́зный (kapríznyj) — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Russian: прихотли́вый (prixotlívyj) — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Russian: причу́дливый (pričúdlivyj) — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Spanish: caprichoso — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Spanish: antojadizo — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Swedish: besynnerlig — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Swedish: egendomlig — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Swedish: konstig — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Swedish: märklig — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Swedish: underlig — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Turkish: acayip — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Turkish: garip — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Turkish: tuhaf — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing
Ottoman Turkish: دلی (deli) — Given to whimsy; capricious; odd; peculiar; playful; light-hearted or amusing

Word forms

Inflections and variants

more whimsical — comparative
most whimsical — superlative

Word family

Derived and related words

Derived: whimsical sex

Related: whimsically, arbitrary, whimsicality, whimsy

Spelling and sound

Hyphenation and homophones

Hyphenation: whim·si·cal

Semantic map

Other relationships

Sources

Where this information comes from

Wiktionary data was expanded into structured fields by Wiktextract. Matching Princeton WordNet definitions and semantic relationships, plus CMUdict ARPABET pronunciations, are merged into this same canonical word page.

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Changes made: Wiktionary markup was removed and matching senses were grouped; WordNet and CMUdict evidence was merged into the canonical word page. Source quotations with separate cited works are not republished.

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Real reading context

Meaning relationships

Examples

Meaning relationships

whimsical in complete knowledge articles