aleatory
Americanadjective
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Law. depending on a contingent event.
an aleatory contract.
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of or relating to accidental causes; of luck or chance; unpredictable.
an aleatory element.
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Music. employing the element of chance in the choice of tones, rests, durations, rhythms, dynamics, etc.
adjective
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dependent on chance
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(esp of a musical composition) involving elements chosen at random by the performer
Etymology
Origin of aleatory
1685–95; < Latin āleātōrius, equivalent to āleātōr- (stem of āleātor gambler ( āle ( a ) game of chance + -ātor -ator ) + -ius adj. suffix; -tory 1
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.
The white-on-white markings can be seen as aleatory wall drawings.
From Washington Post • Nov. 9, 2017
As a generation from whom little was expected, we cultivated an aleatory, “slacker” ethos—well depicted in Richard Linklater’s film of the same name.
From Salon • May 25, 2013
An innovative 1945 work, a concerto for piano and orchestra called “Lousadzak,” used elements of aleatory music, with instruments repeating phrases in random, uncoordinated fashion.
From New York Times • Nov. 4, 2011
He was also an important literary innovator who picked up where the Surrealists left off, pioneering the Cut-Up Method, the aleatory springboard for Burroughs’s best writing.
From New York Times • Jun. 23, 2010
The aleatory element has always been the connecting link between the struggle for existence and religion.
From Folkways A Study of the Sociological Importance of Usages, Manners, Customs, Mores, and Morals by Sumner, William Graham
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.
