[
UK
/ˈɑːbɪtɹəɹi/
]
[ US /ˈɑɹbəˌtɹɛɹi, ˈɑɹbɪˌtɹɛɹi/ ]
[ US /ˈɑɹbəˌtɹɛɹi, ˈɑɹbɪˌtɹɛɹi/ ]
ADJECTIVE
-
based on or subject to individual discretion or preference or sometimes impulse or caprice
an arbitrary choice
an arbitrary penalty
arbitrary division of the group into halves
the arbitrary rule of a dictator
of arbitrary size and shape
an arbitrary decision
How To Use arbitrary In A Sentence
- The basis of its case appears quite arbitrary and rests on contentious historical documentation. Times, Sunday Times
- A belief in it is not only not naïve; it is the essential precondition for civilized society, and our best defense against the arbitrary use of power.
- The whole Valentines racket is arbitrary and false. Let me count the ways « Write Anything
- But hey, I guess if we are operating under the assumption that soccer fans revel in unfairness at the hands of a central, arbitrary power, they they will probably love this change. The Volokh Conspiracy » How Jonathan Adler Gets It Wrong, and Soccer Gets It Right:
- The regular intake of three or more analgesic tablets daily or narcotics or ergotamine on more than two days a week are suggested arbitrary limits.
- They'd also make a few arbitrary, unreviewed, undiscussed decisions about other stuff they'd keep.
- And I should loathe for us to founder on so capricious and arbitrary a matter as a technical glitch. Times, Sunday Times
- The punishment in this instance is not arbitrary; it bears some relation to the punishable behavior.
- Haraway's juxtaposition of the words ‘fiction’ and ‘reality’ illustrates the arbitrary nature of these and other binaries in Western society.
- Your Honour, from my perspective I am trying to understand the arbitrary and capricious argument that my learned friends are putting forward.
