Arbitrary Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

The meaning of ARBITRARY is existing or coming about seemingly at random or by chance or as a capricious and unreasonable act of will. How to use arbitrary ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks JoinMWU MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut arbitrary adjective SaveWord ar·​bi·​trary |\ˈär-bə-ˌtrer-ē ,-ˌtre-rē\ Definitionofarbitrary 1a :existingorcomingaboutseeminglyatrandomorbychanceorasacapriciousandunreasonableactofwill anarbitrarychoiceWhenataskisnotseeninameaningfulcontextitisexperiencedasbeingarbitrary.—NehemiahJordan b :basedonordeterminedbyindividualpreferenceorconvenienceratherthanbynecessityortheintrinsicnatureofsomething anarbitrarystandardtakeanyarbitrarypositivenumber 2a :notrestrainedorlimitedintheexerciseofpower:rulingbyabsoluteauthority anarbitrarygovernment b :markedbyorresultingfromtheunrestrainedandoftentyrannicalexerciseofpower protectionfromarbitraryarrestanddetention 3 law :dependingonindividualdiscretion(asofajudge)andnotfixedbylaw Themannerofpunishmentisarbitrary. OtherWordsfromarbitrary Synonyms Didyouknow? MoreExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutarbitrary OtherWordsfromarbitrary arbitrarily \ ˌär-​bə-​ˈtrer-​ə-​lē ,-​ˈtre-​rə-​ \ adverb arbitrariness \ ˈär-​bə-​ˌtrer-​ē-​nəs ,-​ˌtre-​rē-​ \ noun Synonymsforarbitrary Synonyms dictatorial,high-handed,imperious,peremptory,willful(orwilful) VisittheThesaurusforMore  Didyouknow? ArbitrarycomesfromLatinarbiter,whichmeans"judge"andisthesourceoftheEnglisharbiter.InEnglish,arbitraryfirstmeant"dependinguponchoiceordiscretion"andwasspecificallyusedtoindicatethesortofdecision(asforpunishment)leftuptotheexpertdeterminationofajudgeratherthandefinedbylaw.Today,itcanalsobeusedforanythingdeterminedbyorasifbyapersonalchoiceorwhim. ExamplesofarbitraryinaSentence U.S.NewswasrevealedtohaveconsideredassigninginitsnextrankingsanarbitrarySATscoretoSarahLawrenceCollegebecausetheschoolnolongercollectsapplicants'scores. —JulieRawe,Time,2Apr.2007 Darwin'semphasisonhowpopulationsgraduallychangegavethenotionofspeciesamorearbitraryquality:Specieshadwhateverboundariestaxonomistschose.Theideaofaspeciesasapopulationofindividualsthatbreedmostlywitheachothercomesfrom20th-centurytheorists. —S.Milius,ScienceNews,25Mar.2006 TheMarriageActcertainlyemployedarbitraryanddraconianmeans.Itforcedallcouplestomarrybetween8amand12noon,accordingtotheritesoftheestablishedChurchofEngland,inoneoftheirrespectivelocalparishchurches. —DavidJohnson,HistoryToday,November2003 TwodaysafterPresidentLincolnissuedthefirstversionofhisEmancipationProclamation,hesuspendedtherightofhabeascorpusforanyoneaccusedofresistingthedraftordiscouragingenlistment.Hundredsofcivilianswerearrested,someforgoodreasons,someforentirelyarbitraryandpersonalones. —MichaelLesy,DoubleTake,Spring2001 Anarbitrarynumberhasbeenassignedtoeachdistrict. Idon'tknowwhyIchosethatone;itwasacompletelyarbitrarydecision. Althougharbitraryarrestsareillegal,theycontinuetooccurinmanypartsofthecountry. SeeMore RecentExamplesontheWeb However,JeffreyBarrett,chancellor’sprofessoroflogicandphilosophyofscienceattheUniversityofCalifornia,Irvine,thinkstheconnectionissomewhatarbitraryfromthecognitivescienceside. — RobertLea,PopularMechanics,16Aug.2022 Towinthesejerseys,ridersmustchasepointsthatareavailableatseeminglyarbitraryzonesalongthecourseeachday. — FrederickDreier,OutsideOnline,5Aug.2022 Unlessitiscommunicatedotherwise,theseseeminglyarbitrarydemandstoreturntotheworkplaceleavetheperceptionthatthereisalackoftrust. — JenniferSpear,Forbes,2Aug.2022 Onadateandtimethatwouldbearbitraryonanyothercalendar,hisvalueplummetsat6p.m.onAug.2. — AndrewBeaton,WSJ,28July2022 KormanfoundSanders’reasoningperplexing,asthejudgeseemedtobetryingtorankactsofoffensivenessinasubjective,arbitraryway. — KevinCullen,BostonGlobe.com,14July2022 Nooneonthepanelcouldexplaintheseeminglyarbitrarychoices. — RoryAppleton,TheIndianapolisStar,12July2022 Thislawsuithighlightedthearbitrarynatureoftheboundariesofthedonorserviceareasthatareusedtodistributeorgans,andpoignantlydemonstratedhowthesedividinglinescanresultinlifeordeathforpatients. — RichardN.Formica,STAT,24Apr.2022 Butatatimewherethelimitsimposedonlanguageandculturefeelmorearbitrarythanever,whatcouldbeasweeter2022correctivethancinemawithoutborders,inanyform? — LeahGreenblatt,EW.com,25Mar.2022 SeeMore Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'arbitrary.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. FirstKnownUseofarbitrary 15thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatsense3 HistoryandEtymologyforarbitrary MiddleEnglish,"dependingonindividualdiscretion,"borrowedfromAnglo-French&Latin;Anglo-Frencharbitraire,arbitrarie"relatingtoarbitration,"borrowedfromLatinarbitrārius"relatingtoordependingonthediscretionofanarbiter,"fromarbitr-,arbiterarbiter+-ārius-aryentry2 LearnMoreAboutarbitrary Sharearbitrary PosttheDefinitionofarbitrarytoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofarbitraryonTwitter TimeTravelerforarbitrary Thefirstknownuseofarbitrarywas inthe15thcentury Seemorewordsfromthesamecentury ListentoOurPodcastAboutarbitrary ThememusicbyJoshuaStamper©2006NewJerusalemMusic/ASCAP GetWordoftheDaydeliveredtoyourinbox! SignUp FromtheEditorsatMerriam-Webster TheWordsoftheWeek-6/19/20 TheWordsoftheWeek-6/19/20 SomeofthewordsthatdefinedtheweekendingJune19,2020 DictionaryEntriesNeararbitrary arbitrarious arbitrary arbitraryconstant SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsforarbitrary LastUpdated 20Aug2022 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Arbitrary.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arbitrary.Accessed28Aug.2022. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforarbitrary arbitrary adjective ar·​bi·​trary |\ˈär-bə-ˌtrer-ē \ KidsDefinitionofarbitrary 1 :made,chosen,oractingwithoutthoughtofwhatisfairorright arbitrarydecisionsanarbitraryruler 2 :seemingtohavebeenmadeorchosenbychance Weweregivenanarbitrarylistofbookstochoosefrom. OtherWordsfromarbitrary arbitrarily \ ˌär-​bə-​ˈtrer-​ə-​lē \ adverb arbitrariness \ ˈär-​bə-​ˌtrer-​ē-​nəs \ noun arbitrary adjective ar·​bi·​trary |\ˈär-bə-ˌtrer-ē \ Legal Definitionofarbitrary 1 :dependingonindividualdiscretion(asofajudge)andnotfixedbystandards,rules,orlaw themannerofpunishmentisarbitrary 2a :notrestrainedorlimitedintheexerciseofpower anarbitrarygovernment b :markedbyorresultingfromtheunrestrainedexerciseofpower protectionfromarbitraryarrestanddetention 3a :basedonpreference,bias,prejudice,orconvenienceratherthanonreasonorfact anarbitrarystandarddifferentprovisionsforthemarriedandtheunmarriedwereirrationalandarbitrary—K.A.Cohen b :existingorcomingaboutseeminglyatrandomorbychanceorasanunreasonableactofindividualwillwithoutregardforfactsorapplicablelaw —oftenusedinthephrasearbitraryandcapricious anagencyfindingorconclusionoflackofevidencewouldbearbitraryandcapriciousiftherecordaffordednosubstantialbasisforsuchafinding—Irvinv.Hobby,131F.Supp.851(1955) Note: Undersection706oftheAdministrativeProcedureAct,acourtshallsetasideanagency'saction,findings,orconclusionsdetermineduponreviewtobearbitrary. OtherWordsfromarbitrary arbitrarily \ ˌär-​bə-​ˈtrer-​ə-​lē \ adverb arbitrariness \ ˈär-​bə-​ˌtrer-​ē-​nəs \ noun MorefromMerriam-Websteronarbitrary Nglish:TranslationofarbitraryforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofarbitraryforArabicSpeakers WORDOFTHEDAY devolve SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary CommonlyConfusedWordsQuiz Iwenttothe______storetobuyabirthdaycard. stationery stationary Testyourknowledge-andmaybelearnsomethingalongtheway. TAKETHEQUIZ Adailychallengeforcrosswordfanatics. TAKETHEQUIZ SubscribetoAmerica'slargestdictionaryandgetthousandsmoredefinitionsandadvancedsearch—adfree! Merriam-Websterunabridged WordsatPlay 'Dunderhead'andOther‘Nicer’WaystoSayStupid Asillustratedbysomeverysmartpups 10WordsfromPlaceNames Bikini,bourbon,andbadmintonwereplacesfirst 'Pride':TheWordThatWentFromVicetoStrength DoyoutakeprideinPride? WhenWereWordsFirstUsed? 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