Adjacent Words

Caprice definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CAPRICE, n. A sudden start of the mind; a sudden change of opinion, or humor; a whim, freak, or particular fancy.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a sudden desire; "he bought it on an impulse" [syn: caprice, impulse, whim]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: French, from Italian capriccio caprice, shudder, perhaps from capo head (from Latin caput) + riccio hedgehog, from Latin ericius — more at head, urchin Date: 1667 1. a. a sudden, impulsive, and seemingly unmotivated notion or action b. a sudden usually unpredictable condition, change, or series of changes <the caprices of the weather> 2. a disposition to do things impulsively 3. capriccio 3 Synonyms: caprice, whim, vagary, crotchet mean an irrational or unpredictable idea or desire. caprice stresses lack of apparent motivation and suggests willfulness <by sheer caprice she quit her job>. whim implies a fantastic, capricious turn of mind or inclination <an odd antique that was bought on a whim>. vagary stresses the erratic, irresponsible character of the notion or desire <recently he had been prone to strange vagaries>. crotchet implies an eccentric opinion or preference <a serious scientist equally known for his bizarre crotchets>.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a an unaccountable or whimsical change of mind or conduct. b a tendency to this. 2 a work of lively fancy in painting, drawing, or music; a capriccio. Etymology: F f. It. CAPRICCIO

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Caprice Ca*price", n. [F. caprice, It. capriccio, caprice (perh. orig. a fantastical goat leap), fr. L. caper, capra, goat. Cf Capriole, Cab, Caper, v. i.] 1. An abrupt change in feeling, opinion, or action, proceeding from some whim or fancy; a freak; a notion. ``Caprices of appetite.'' --W. Irving. 2. (Mus.) See Capriccio. Syn: Freak; whim; crotchet; fancy; vagary; humor; whimsey; fickleness.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(caprices) A caprice is an unexpected action or decision which has no strong reason or purpose. (FORMAL) I lived in terror of her sudden caprices and moods. = whim, impulse N-VAR

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Whim, freak, fancy, humor, crotchet, maggot, quirk, vagary, whimsey, whim-wham.

Moby Thesaurus

arbitrariness, bee, boutade, capriccio, capriciousness, carelessness, characteristic, conceit, contrariety, crank, crankiness, crotchet, crotchetiness, divertissement, fancifulness, fancy, fantasia, fantasticality, foible, freak, freakishness, habit, heedlessness, humor, humoresque, humorsomeness, inconsiderateness, inconsideration, inconsistency, maggot, mannerism, medley, megrim, mood, moodiness, motivelessness, notion, peculiarity, perversity, petulance, potpourri, quirkiness, romance, romanza, temper, temperamentalness, thoughtlessness, trait, trick, unthoughtfulness, vagary, vein, whim, whimsicality, whimsicalness, whimsy