as in notion
a sudden impulsive and apparently unmotivated idea or action
on a whim, we stopped at the roadside stand to get ice cream
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of whim
The scope of these enormous solar storms is important to understand for technology experts in the 21st century, which is much more vulnerable to the whims of the sun due to society's dependence on electronic systems and space technologies.
—
Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 19 May 2025
And a global order that, for all its drawbacks, has made world war more of a prospect than a fact for several decades is now subject to the whims of President Trump, who has developed the most incoherent of positions: that of the bellicose unilateral noninterventionist.
—Paul Elie, New Yorker, 9 May 2025
The Treasury secretary’s rationalization for Trump’s whims wouldn’t pass an undergrad econ exam.
—Veronique De Rugy, National Review, 7 May 2025
But no overhaul is forthcoming, leaving the CIA and its peers vulnerable to Trump’s demagoguery, and Americans vulnerable to the whims of a surveillance state.
—James Santel, The Atlantic, 8 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for whim
Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 19 May 2025
And a global order that, for all its drawbacks, has made world war more of a prospect than a fact for several decades is now subject to the whims of President Trump, who has developed the most incoherent of positions: that of the bellicose unilateral noninterventionist.
—Paul Elie, New Yorker, 9 May 2025
The Treasury secretary’s rationalization for Trump’s whims wouldn’t pass an undergrad econ exam.
—Veronique De Rugy, National Review, 7 May 2025
But no overhaul is forthcoming, leaving the CIA and its peers vulnerable to Trump’s demagoguery, and Americans vulnerable to the whims of a surveillance state.
—James Santel, The Atlantic, 8 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for whim
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whim
Noun
-
The very notion of shared destiny and collective goals is fading.—
Sturla Henriksen,
Time,
5 June 2025
-
Many of the pointed questions that Cruz Guerrero sought answers to in the text revolved around fatherhood, namely the elusive notion of work-life balance.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Los Angeles Times,
5 June 2025
Noun
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Trump ran as a populist, but his actions in office have built a new élite shaped by his personal preference and caprice.—
Nathan Heller,
New Yorker,
9 Apr. 2025
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Fear of political caprice masquerading as strategy, of a trade war metastasizing into financial contagion, and of a world where traditional safe havens—currencies, institutions, alliances—no longer offer much safety at all.—
Mohammed Soliman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Still, the in-and-out running of Trump’s tariff policies carries some important lessons for investors — and anyone else obsessing over Trump’s thought processes.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2025
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Dynamic Safety Frameworks As models develop advanced reasoning, safety evaluations must track the full chain of thought.—
Olga Megorskaya,
Forbes.com,
29 May 2025
Noun
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Vape shops have spread across the American retail landscape with a bizarre swiftness, seemingly unbeholden to the same vagaries of inflation, customer demand, and local real estate that bind every other kind of storefront small business in the country.—
Amanda Mull,
The Atlantic,
22 June 2023
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Third, repeaters should prove capable of swapping this data between nodes in a network in a predictable way and not one too subject to the vagaries of chance.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
13 June 2023
Noun
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Set to John Kander and Fred Ebb's award-winning score, the trailer offers a glimpse at the film’s blend of gritty realism and old-Hollywood fantasy.—
Dave Quinn,
People.com,
5 June 2025
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Following Wicked’s blockbuster release last year, there’s a ton of excitement brewing for Part 2 of the fantasy movie musical starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.—
Monica Mercuri,
Forbes.com,
4 June 2025
Noun
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Coach, too, didn’t shy away from a little footwear playfulness at New York Fashion Week last year, for which the brand’s Soho Sneaker was introduced to childlike whimsy — by way of prominent charms taking up prime real estate on the shoe’s upper and, understandably, attracting all the attention.—
Stacia Datskovska,
Footwear News,
29 May 2025
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Affirmation, though, Kore-eda would warn, is not an affect of whimsy, it must be aged and earned, not wished or projected.—
Ritesh Mehta,
IndieWire,
20 May 2025
Noun
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Orangeburg, South Carolina — New York native Linwood Riddick could have spent his golden years in Summerville, South Carolina, tickling the ivories or whatever else tickled his fancy.—
Steve Hartman,
CBS News,
23 May 2025
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Ishaan Khatter and Bhumi Pednekar’s new Hindi web series The Royals has caught the fancy of cinephiles worldwide.—
Sweta Kaushal,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Whim.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whim. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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