caprice

[ kuh-prees ]
See synonyms for caprice on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a sudden, unpredictable change, as of one's mind or the weather.

  2. a tendency to change one's mind without apparent or adequate motive; whimsicality; capriciousness: With the caprice of a despotic king, he alternated between kindness and cruelty.

Origin of caprice

1
First recorded in 1660–70; from French, from Italian; see capriccio

Other words for caprice

Words Nearby caprice

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use caprice in a sentence

  • All this gave him hope, and he knew, that when caprice permitted, she would be unrivalled as a companion.

    Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton

British Dictionary definitions for caprice

caprice

/ (kəˈpriːs) /


noun
  1. a sudden or unpredictable change of attitude, behaviour, etc; whim

  2. a tendency to such changes

  1. another word for capriccio

Origin of caprice

1
C17: from French, from Italian capriccio a shiver, caprice, from capo head + riccio hedgehog, suggesting a convulsive shudder in which the hair stood on end like a hedgehog's spines; meaning also influenced by Italian capra goat, by folk etymology

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012