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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decorum
Origin of arbitrary
OTHER WORDS FROM arbitrary
Words nearby arbitrary
arbitrable, arbitrage, arbitrager, arbitral, arbitrament, arbitrary, arbitrate, arbitration, arbitration bar, arbitration, the, arbitrator
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences 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 of arbitrary
arbitrarily, adverbarbitrariness, nounWord Origin for arbitrary
C15: from Latin arbitrārius arranged through arbitration, uncertain
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