indiscriminate
Americanadjective
-
not discriminating or discerning; lacking in care, judgment, selectivity, etc..
indiscriminate in one's friendships.
-
done at random or without making distinctions; haphazard.
indiscriminate slaughter.
-
not kept apart or divided; thrown together; jumbled.
an indiscriminate combination of colors and styles.
- Synonyms:
- varied, motley, mixed, heterogeneous, random
adjective
-
lacking discrimination or careful choice; random or promiscuous
-
jumbled; confused
Related Words
See miscellaneous.
Other Word Forms
- indiscriminately adverb
- indiscriminateness noun
- indiscrimination noun
Etymology
Origin of indiscriminate
First recorded in 1590–1600; in- 3 + discriminate (adjective)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Basket trading, custom indices and ETFs are driving indiscriminate selling, pulling down everything tied to the sector regardless of business quality,” he said.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 24, 2026
An overwhelming majority of the bishops voted for a declaration in November that denounced a “climate of fear” and condemned “the indiscriminate mass deportation of people.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 21, 2026
Politico’s description, meanwhile, was that Blair “encouraged members to curb their hard-line rhetoric about indiscriminate deportations, indicating it could cost them key voting blocs.”
From Slate • Mar. 14, 2026
Sir Richard said it became clear early on "that Iran's response was going to be much broader, wild and indiscriminate, and rather reckless compared to what we saw in the 12-day war last summer".
From BBC • Mar. 7, 2026
Her hair was an indiscriminate shade of brown that had been made and remade, it appeared, as a nest for birds.
From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
