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whims

Noun
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Sudden, unpredictable fancies, impulses, or capricious desires, often driving eccentric behavior or imaginative poetic turns.

Detailed Definition
Whims are passing, unpredictable impulses or fancies. The poem uses the word to suggest the birds’ lively, changeable movements and sounds as part of the natural scene.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire” gives whims the sense of passing fancies or caprices; “He followed every whim of wind and weather” personifies impulsive change; “Her whims were paper boats in the gutter” makes fleeting desire concrete; “A whim sent her walking before sunrise” shows a sudden, unplanned impulse
Additional Notes
"Whims" in this context is a somewhat literary use that may not be immediately obvious to every reader.; Found in the poem, There Will Come Soft Rains by Sara Teasdale
Also Known As
fancies whimsies caprices notions
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