indiscriminate

[in-di-skrim-uh-nit]

adjective

1. not discriminating or discerning; lacking in care, judgment, selectivity, etc..

   indiscriminate in one's friendships.

2. done at random or without making distinctions; haphazard.

   indiscriminate slaughter.

3. not kept apart or divided; thrown together; jumbled.

   an indiscriminate combination of colors and styles.

   Synonyms: varied, motley, mixed, heterogeneous, random

indiscriminate

/ ˌɪndɪˈskrɪmɪnɪt /

adjective

1. lacking discrimination or careful choice; random or promiscuous

2. jumbled; confused

Other Word Forms

• indiscriminately adverb
• indiscriminateness noun
• indiscrimination noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of indiscriminate¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; in- ³ + discriminate (adjective)

Synonym Study

See miscellaneous.

Example Sentences

Frimpong previously issued a ruling in the same case temporarily blocking federal agents from using racial profiling to carry out indiscriminate immigration arrests.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Police said workers of TLP "resorted to stone pelting, spiked batons, and petrol bombs" and opened "indiscriminate fire, resulting in casualties among civilians and law enforcement personnel".

Read more on Barron's

"Big issues are indiscriminate. Everyone has to go through them," he nods.

Read more on BBC

"They're built to ensnare sharks or fish and they're deadly effective, but sadly completely indiscriminate," says Dean Cropp who, as a cinematographer and ocean explorer, has been documenting these nets for years.

Read more on BBC

During the American Secret War, there was an indiscriminate bombing on civilians of Laos — at least one ton of ordnance dropped for every child, woman and man living in Laos during the 1960-70s.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• aimless 
• extensive 
• haphazard 
• unplanned 
• wholesale