arbitrary
[ ahr-bi-trer-ee ]
/ ˈɑr bɪˌtrɛr i /
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.
capricious; unreasonable; unsupported: an arbitrary demand for payment.
Mathematics. undetermined; not assigned a specific value: an arbitrary constant.
noun, plural ar·bi·trar·ies.
arbitraries, Printing. (in Britain) peculiar(def 9).
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RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
arbitrable, arbitrage, arbitrager, arbitral, arbitrament, arbitrary, arbitrate, arbitration, arbitration bar, arbitration, the, arbitrator
Origin of arbitrary
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for arbitrarily
British Dictionary definitions for arbitrarily
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 valuean arbitrary constant
law (esp of a penalty or punishment) not laid down by statute; within the court's discretion
Derived Forms
arbitrarily, adverbarbitrariness, nounWord Origin for arbitrary
C15: from Latin arbitrārius arranged through arbitration, uncertain
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