Whimsical Meaning
/ˈwɪmzɪkəl/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjGiven to whimsy.
Sentence Examples
I prefer my stories to be on the more whimsical side.
She shaped the cake into a whimsical design.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The young artist painted a ____ picture full of dragons and fairies.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The children's book is filled with several ____ illustrations and funny stories about magical creatures in the deep and dark woods today.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
""But perhaps he may be a little whimsical in his civilities," replied her uncle. "Your great men often are; and therefore I shall not take him at his word, as he might change his mind another day, and warn me off his grounds.""
— 1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], Pride and Prejudice: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC:
"Mr. Sherlock Holmes was leaning back in his chair after his whimsical protest, and was unfolding his morning paper in a leisurely fashion, […]."
— 1903 October 31, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “The Adventure of the Norwood Builder”, in The Return of Sherlock Holmes, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co., published February 1905, →OCLC:
"The childish and savage taste of men and women for new patterns keeps how many shaking and squinting through kaleidoscopes that they may discover the particular figure which this generation requires today. The manufacturers have learned that this taste is merely whimsical."
— 1854 August 9, Henry D[avid] Thoreau, Walden; or, Life in the Woods, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC:
"Her lips wavered into a smile—she had been distracted by the whimsical remembrance of the confidences she had made to him, two years earlier, in that very room."
— 1905, Edith Wharton, The House of Mirth, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC:
"Lovers of the movies may well date a new screen era from the day those whimsical pantomimers set their wholesome and humane talent at the service of the arc light and the lens."
— 1919, Christopher Morley, “(please specify the page)”, in The Haunted Bookshop, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, →OCLC:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The young artist painted a ____ picture full of dragons and fairies.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The children's book is filled with several ____ illustrations and funny stories about magical creatures in the deep and dark woods today.