arbitrary
Americanadjective
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subject to individual will or judgment without restriction; contingent solely upon one's discretion.
an arbitrary decision.
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decided by a judge or arbiter rather than by a law or statute.
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having unlimited power; uncontrolled or unrestricted by law; despotic; tyrannical.
an arbitrary government.
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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.
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Mathematics. undetermined; not assigned a specific value.
an arbitrary constant.
noun
plural
arbitrariesadjective
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founded on or subject to personal whims, prejudices, etc; capricious
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having only relative application or relevance; not absolute
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(of a government, ruler, etc) despotic or dictatorial
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maths not representing any specific value
an arbitrary constant
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law (esp of a penalty or punishment) not laid down by statute; within the court's discretion
Other Word Forms
- arbitrarily adverb
- arbitrariness noun
- nonarbitrary adjective
- unarbitrary adjective
Etymology
Origin of arbitrary
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin arbitrārius “uncertain” (i.e., depending on an arbiter's decision); arbiter, -ary
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 authorities must put an end to all arbitrary detentions and all forms of intimidation, including physical attacks on human rights defenders and restrictions on freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly."
From Barron's
Such arrests appear arbitrary and capricious, and are unlikely to survive scrutiny by the courts, Judge Pitts ruled Wednesday.
From Los Angeles Times
“What else could defendants’ decisions to cut funding to specific counterterrorism programming by conspicuous round numbered amounts — including by slashing off the millions-place digits of awarded sums — be if not arbitrary and capricious?”
From Salon
The rule, she wrote, is “arbitrary and capricious.”
Last week, a federal judge struck down that order, calling it “arbitrary and capricious.”
From Los Angeles Times
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.
