Whim — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

a sudden desire

an odd or fanciful or capricious idea

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/wˈɪm/

🇬🇧British English

/wˈɪm/

🇮🇳Indian English

/wˈɪm/

1 syllable Say it as /wˈɪm/.

Examples

he bought it on an impulse
the theatrical notion of disguise is associated with disaster in his stories
he had a whimsy about flying to the moon

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

whimsey impulse whimsy caprice notion

Parts of Speech

noun	a sudden desire “he bought it on an impulse”
noun	an odd or fanciful or capricious idea “the theatrical notion of disguise is associated with disaster in his stories”

Word Forms

capricious	adjective	determined by chance or impulse or whim rather than by necessity or reason
whimsical	adjective	determined by chance or impulse or whim rather than by necessity or reason

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Laune

ein plötzliches Verlangen

🇫🇷French

caprice

un désir soudain

🇪🇸Spanish

capricho

un deseo repentino

🇮🇹Italian

capriccio

un desiderio improvviso

🇳🇱Dutch

opwelling

een plotseling verlangen

🇵🇹Portuguese

capricho

um desejo repentino

🇷🇺Russian

прихоть

внезапное желание

India

🇮🇳Hindi

रंग

अचानक इच्छा

🇧🇩Bengali

হুম

একটি আকস্মিক ইচ্ছা

🇮🇳Tamil

ஆசை

திடீர் ஆசை

🇮🇳Telugu

ఇష్టానుసారం

ఆకస్మిక కోరిక

🇮🇳Marathi

लहरी

अचानक इच्छा

🇮🇳Gujarati

ધૂન

અચાનક ઇચ્છા

🇮🇳Kannada

ಹುಚ್ಚಾಟಿಕೆ

ಹಠಾತ್ ಬಯಕೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

ഇഷ്ടം

പെട്ടെന്നൊരു ആഗ്രഹം

🇵🇰Urdu

وہم

اچانک خواہش

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

一时兴起

突然的愿望

🇯🇵Japanese

気まぐれ

突然の欲求

🇰🇷Korean

변덕

갑작스러운 욕망

🇻🇳Vietnamese

ý thích bất chợt

một ham muốn đột ngột

🇹🇭Thai

ราชประสงค์

ความปรารถนาอย่างกะทันหัน

🇮🇩Indonesian

keinginan

keinginan yang tiba-tiba

🇵🇭Filipino

kapritso

isang biglaang pagnanasa

🇲🇾Malay

sesuka hati

keinginan yang tiba-tiba

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

نزوة

رغبة مفاجئة

🇮🇷Persian

هوی و هوس

یک میل ناگهانی

🇹🇷Turkish

heves

ani bir arzu

🇮🇱Hebrew

גַחְמָה

רצון פתאומי

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'whim'?

The primary meaning of 'whim' is 'a sudden desire'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'whim' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'whim' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'whim' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'whim' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'whim' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'whim' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'whim' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'whim' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'whim' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'whim' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted