Whimsy
What it means
Playful imagination expressed through charming or surprising oddity.
Reach for it when naming a light imaginative quality in art, humor, design, or atmosphere
A touch of whimsy made the technical exhibit inviting to children.
Words to choose between 7
| playful | |
|---|---|
| warm |
|
| professional | |
| formal | |
| literary |
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playful
Fits when unusual character creates appeal
Careful Quirkiness centers oddness and can sound othering when applied to people.
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warm
lightness
Fits when relief from heaviness is the main effect
Careful Lightness can come from brevity or tone without imaginative play.
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warm
Fits when lighthearted activity is the main quality
Careful Playfulness can be physical or social without imaginative oddity.
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professional
Fits when creative invention matters without a comic tone
Careful Imagination is much broader and can produce grave or realistic work.
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formal
caprice
Fits when an impulse or sudden change is the actual subject
Careful Caprice usually implies arbitrariness rather than welcome whimsy.
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literary
Fits when free imaginative invention suits an old-fashioned voice
Careful Fancy can also mean preference or ornament and may confuse modern readers.
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literary
fantasy
Fits when impossible or magical invention defines the work
Careful Fantasy is a mode or genre and may contain no whimsy at all.
Opposites 3
- solemnity
- severity
- conventionality
Common phrases 3
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touch of whimsy
A touch of whimsy softened the map without reducing its accuracy.
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sense of whimsy
Her sense of whimsy appeared in labels written from the objects' viewpoint.
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add whimsy
Colored shadows add whimsy to the otherwise spare corridor.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Paul2520, American accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC0 Updated