arbitrary

[ ahr-bi-trer-ee ]

adjective

1. subject to individual will or judgment without restriction; contingent solely upon one's discretion:

   an arbitrary decision.

2. decided by a judge or arbiter rather than by a law or statute.
3. having unlimited power; uncontrolled or unrestricted by law; despotic; tyrannical:

   an arbitrary government.

4. 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.

5. Mathematics. undetermined; not assigned a specific value:

   an arbitrary constant.

noun

, plural ar·bi·trar·ies.

1. arbitraries, Printing. (in Britain) peculiar ( def 9 ).

arbitrary

/ ˈɑːbɪtrərɪ /

adjective

1. founded on or subject to personal whims, prejudices, etc; capricious
2. having only relative application or relevance; not absolute
3. (of a government, ruler, etc) despotic or dictatorial
4. maths not representing any specific value

   an arbitrary constant

5. law (esp of a penalty or punishment) not laid down by statute; within the court's discretion

Derived Forms

• ˈarbitrarily, adverb
• ˈarbitrariness, noun

Other Words From

• ar·bi·trar·i·ly [ahr-bi-, trair, -, uh, -lee] adverb
• ar·bi·trar·i·ness noun
• non·ar·bi·trar·y adjective
• un·ar·bi·trar·y adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of arbitrary¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin arbitrārius “uncertain” (i.e., depending on an arbiter's decision); arbiter, -ary

Word History and Origins

Origin of arbitrary¹

C15: from Latin arbitrārius arranged through arbitration, uncertain

Example Sentences

A skeptical person will object that the definition of lift as a force acting at a right angle to the airstream is arbitrary.

From Popular-Science

The 1,000 jobs lost due to arbitrary border restrictions are essential to the 1,000 families that somehow depended on their wages.

From Voice of San Diego

I looked at that and I say that seems quite arbitrary to me, because you can get coronavirus any time of the day.

From Ozy

In March, many initially set an arbitrary reopening date of Labor Day 2020.

From Fortune

First, a principle of quantum mechanics called the no-cloning theorem says that it’s impossible to copy an arbitrary quantum state, so qubits can’t be duplicated.

From Science News

The truth is that Judd is really just picking an arbitrary number since there is no script.

From The Daily Beast

The problem is that those restrictions—like jumping from a 24- to a 72-hour waiting period—seem fairly arbitrary.

From The Daily Beast

Pinker is not a self-appointed enforcer of arbitrary rules, and he has little patience for purists, prigs, and pedants.

From The Daily Beast

Like Silver, I question the seemingly arbitrary cutoffs and weighting of the data Wang uses in his model.

From The Daily Beast

Time and time again, we see women being asked to ace some arbitrary test in order to be deemed model victims.

From The Daily Beast

The great dyke which kept out arbitrary power had been broken.

From Project Gutenberg

Wherever there is arbitrary rule, there must be necessity, on the part of the dominant classes, superiority be assumed.

From Project Gutenberg

However arbitrary, there are certain policies that regulate all well organized institutions and corporate bodies.

From Project Gutenberg

This, Williston says, is an arbitrary refusal of the court to enforce the contract that the parties made and seems unwarranted.

From Project Gutenberg

Depend upon it you will always be properly opposed in such arbitrary measures.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• capricious
• discretionary
• erratic
• frivolous
• inconsistent
• irrational
• irresponsible
• random
• subjective
• unreasonable
• willful