arbitrariness

[ ahr-bi-trer-ee-nis ]

noun

1. the quality of being subject to an individual’s will, judgment, discretion, or personal preference:

   Of course none of this makes sense; it just shows the arbitrariness and subjectivity of what's considered obscene.

   Students need to recognize that there is a certain arbitrariness in any ranking, and be less concerned about whether a school has moved up or down slightly in any given year.

2. the quality of having no apparent reason or pattern; randomness:

   These inconsistencies show the arbitrariness, incongruity, and unreliability of what gets remembered.

3. the state or quality of being uncontrolled or unrestricted by law; tyranny:

   When red tape serves only the organization itself, the rule of law can easily turn into arbitrariness.

   The real burden on the peasants was the arbitrariness of the autocratic form of government.

4. Linguistics, Semiotics. (of words or language) the quality of having no correspondence between the sounds or form of a word and the form, function, or meaning of the thing being denoted:

   The arbitrariness of words is absolute because words are abstractions.

5. Mathematics. the quality of being undetermined, or not having been assigned a specific value:

   The arbitrariness of ε concludes the proof for that case.

Other Words From

• non·ar·bi·trar·i·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of arbitrariness¹

arbitrary ( def ) + -ness ( def )

Example Sentences

"It no longer has to do with somebody's criminal culpability and what is the appropriate punishment for certain culpability, but rather politics. It just seems so arbitrary — and that's exactly the death penalty is not supposed to involve, arbitrariness."

From Salon

As a student at the University of Chicago, he became fascinated with the ways her work “gave you a view of the arbitrariness of cultural mores, cultural systems.”

From Slate

For others, dog meat has served as a provocative thought exercise about the arbitrariness of the moral value humans assign to animals.

From Los Angeles Times

“The warehouse was a testament to the arbitrariness” of the process, Van Hollen said.

From Seattle Times

“At best, there’s an arbitrariness to the programs, and at worst, there’s no quality assurance.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bigotry
• extremism
• hatred
• intolerance
• zeal
• zealotry