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arbitrary
[ ahr-bi-trer-ee ]
adjective
- subject to individual will or judgment without restriction; contingent solely upon one's discretion:
an arbitrary decision.
- decided by a judge or arbiter rather than by a law or statute.
- having unlimited power; uncontrolled or unrestricted by law; despotic; tyrannical:
an arbitrary government.
- based on whim or personal preference, without reason or pattern; random:
This is an unusual encyclopedia, arranged by topics in a more or less arbitrary order.
- Mathematics. undetermined; not assigned a specific value:
an arbitrary constant.
noun
- arbitraries, Printing. (in Britain) peculiar ( def 9 ).
arbitrary
/ ˈɑːbɪtrərɪ /
adjective
- founded on or subject to personal whims, prejudices, etc; capricious
- having only relative application or relevance; not absolute
- (of a government, ruler, etc) despotic or dictatorial
- maths not representing any specific value
an arbitrary constant
- law (esp of a penalty or punishment) not laid down by statute; within the court's discretion
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Derived Forms
- ˈarbitrarily, adverb
- ˈarbitrariness, noun
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Other Words From
- ar·bi·trar·i·ly [ahr-bi-, trair, -, uh, -lee] adverb
- ar·bi·trar·i·ness noun
- non·ar·bi·trar·y adjective
- un·ar·bi·trar·y adjective
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Word History and Origins
Origin of arbitrary1
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Word History and Origins
Origin of arbitrary1
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Example Sentences
The truth is that Judd is really just picking an arbitrary number since there is no script.
The problem is that those restrictions—like jumping from a 24- to a 72-hour waiting period—seem fairly arbitrary.
Pinker is not a self-appointed enforcer of arbitrary rules, and he has little patience for purists, prigs, and pedants.
Like Silver, I question the seemingly arbitrary cutoffs and weighting of the data Wang uses in his model.
Time and time again, we see women being asked to ace some arbitrary test in order to be deemed model victims.
The great dyke which kept out arbitrary power had been broken.
Wherever there is arbitrary rule, there must be necessity, on the part of the dominant classes, superiority be assumed.
However arbitrary, there are certain policies that regulate all well organized institutions and corporate bodies.
This, Williston says, is an arbitrary refusal of the court to enforce the contract that the parties made and seems unwarranted.
Depend upon it you will always be properly opposed in such arbitrary measures.
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