arbitrary
[ahr-bi-trer-ee]
- 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.
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- arbitraries, Printing. (in Britain) peculiar(def 9).
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Origin of arbitrary
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for arbitrary
Contemporary Examples
The truth is that Judd is really just picking an arbitrary number since there is no script.
Inside Sony’s ‘Pineapple Express 2 Drama’: Leaked Emails Reveal Fight Over Stoner Comedy SequelWilliam Boot
December 21, 2014
Pinker is not a self-appointed enforcer of arbitrary rules, and he has little patience for purists, prigs, and pedants.
Time and time again, we see women being asked to ace some arbitrary test in order to be deemed model victims.
Gandley feels that any distinction between pro-anorexia sites and some healthy living sites are arbitrary.
“The basic aim of a democratic regime is to curb the use of arbitrary powers against its citizens,” West writes.
Historical Examples
Why, she was called in the Institution, Harriet Beadle—an arbitrary name, of course.
Little DorritCharles Dickens
I wish Society was not so arbitrary, I wish it was not so exacting—Bird, be quiet!'
Little DorritCharles Dickens
He was arbitrary, but he was not so arbitrary as his instructions.
It is not an average of freight rates, but is an arbitrary figure.
About sugar buying for JobbersB. W. Dyer
"Justice is altogether an arbitrary, a relative phrase," Wrayson declared.
The AvengerE. Phillips Oppenheim
arbitrary
- 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
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Word Origin
C15: from Latin arbitrārius arranged through arbitration, uncertain
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for arbitrary
adj.
early 15c., "deciding by one's own discretion," from Old French arbitraire (14c.) or directly from Latin arbitrarius "depending on the will, uncertain," from arbiter (see arbiter). The original meaning gradually descended to "capricious" and "despotic" (1640s). Related: Arbitrarily; arbitrariness.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper