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Definition of "caprice" []

  • An impulsive change of mind. (noun)
  • An inclination to change one's mind impulsively. (noun)
  • A sudden, unpredictable action, change, or series of actions or changes: A hailstorm in July is a caprice of nature. (noun)
  • Music A capriccio. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "caprice" in a sentence
  • "Paula seemed struck by the generous and cheerful fairness of his remarks, and said gently, 'Perhaps your departure is not absolutely necessary for my happiness; and I do not wish from what you call caprice --'"
  • "There is hardly any one here who can understand what they call my caprice of entering the priesthood, and these good people tell me, with rustic candor, that I ought to throw aside the clerical garb; that to be a priest is very well for a poor young man; but that I, who am to be a rich man’s heir, should marry, and console the old age of my father by giving him half a dozen handsome and robust grandchildren."
  • "They are guarded better by their calculations than a virgin by her mother and her convent; and they have invented the word caprice for that unbartered love which they allow themselves from time to time, for a rest, for an excuse, for a consolation, like usurers, who cheat"