as in whim
a sudden impulsive and apparently unmotivated idea or action
a frequent victim to the vagrancies of the heart, she had a succession of passionate but short-lived romances
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Recent Examples of vagrancy
The building, erected between 2005 and 2007, has drawn loiterers, break-ins, litter and other signs of vagrancy and neglect since CVS permanently closed the location in April 2022.
—
Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 30 Sep. 2025
Many local government officials, reformers, and policymakers in the 19th century saw vagrancy laws as futile at best, cruel at worst.
—Time, 16 Sep. 2025
The rise in vagrancy, open drug use, aggressive panhandling, indecent exposure and public health hazards have made downtown residents feel increasingly unsafe in their own city.
—Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 11 Aug. 2025
Rustin served jail time and was posthumously pardoned Rustin was arrested 23 times, including a 1953 conviction in Pasadena, for vagrancy and lewd conduct — charges commonly used then to criminalize LGBTQ+ people.
—Jaylen Green, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for vagrancy
Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 30 Sep. 2025
Many local government officials, reformers, and policymakers in the 19th century saw vagrancy laws as futile at best, cruel at worst.
—Time, 16 Sep. 2025
The rise in vagrancy, open drug use, aggressive panhandling, indecent exposure and public health hazards have made downtown residents feel increasingly unsafe in their own city.
—Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 11 Aug. 2025
Rustin served jail time and was posthumously pardoned Rustin was arrested 23 times, including a 1953 conviction in Pasadena, for vagrancy and lewd conduct — charges commonly used then to criminalize LGBTQ+ people.
—Jaylen Green, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for vagrancy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vagrancy
whim
Noun
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Demolishes the East Wing of the White House on an egotistical whim?—
Mark Barabak,
Mercury News,
1 May 2026
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Poor Andy Sachs — in the form of the Disney princess-eyed Anne Hathaway — may have suffered the verbal lashings of a boss who expected whims to move worlds on her behalf.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Vagrancy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vagrancy. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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