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Definition of "whim" []

  • A sudden or capricious idea; a fancy. (noun)
  • Arbitrary thought or impulse: governed by whim. (noun)
  • A vertical horse-powered drum used as a hoist in a mine. (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 "whim" in a sentence
  • "“Assuredly, my dear madam,” replied lady Arabella; “for I am certain what you term a whim will prove to be¾”"
  • "Hatred of the Count, mortified self - love, and the resolution to vanquish what he termed the whim of a peevish beauty, would inevitably have precipitated her into difficulties most disastrous, if happily the inconstancy of his nature had not in the end relieved her from his persecution."
  • "Changing the nature of these use fees traditionally used to cover internalized infrastructure costs to one of a new general tax subject to state and federal whim is extraordinarlly poor public policy unless there's been a change in the trustwortiness of our electeds that I've missed and Mankiw has discovered."