Meanings
prepositional phrase
- idiomaticWithout thinking seriously about the consequences.
Germany’s government said press freedom must not be switched “on and off on a whim” and Downing Street also raised concerns over the suspensions.
2022 December 16, Dan Milmo, Rowena Mason, Alex Hern, “Twitter’s suspension of journalists sets ‘dangerous precedent’, UN warns”, in The GuardianSynonyms: on a lark
Synonyms & antonyms
prepositional phraseWithout thinking seriously about the consequences.
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Also see
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 心血來潮 /心血来潮
- 心血來潮 /心血来潮 (xīnxuèláicháo)without thinking seriously about the consequences
Dutch in een opwelling
- in een opwellingwithout thinking seriously about the consequences
Finnish hetken mielijohteesta
- hetken mielijohteestawithout thinking seriously about the consequences
French sur un coup de tête, à l'emporte-pièce
- sur un coup de têtewithout thinking seriously about the consequences
- à l'emporte-piècewithout thinking seriously about the consequences
German aus einer Laune heraus
- aus einer Laune herauswithout thinking seriously about the consequences
Italian alla leggera
- alla leggerawithout thinking seriously about the consequences
Polish dla kaprysu, ot, tak sobie
- dla kaprysuwithout thinking seriously about the consequences
- ot, tak sobiewithout thinking seriously about the consequences
- z byle powoduwithout thinking seriously about the consequences
Portuguese num repente
- num repentewithout thinking seriously about the consequences
Cite this entry
APA
on a whim. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20a%20whim
MLA
“on a whim.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20a%20whim. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “on a whim,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20a%20whim.
Source: on a whim on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.