Arbitrary
adj, noun ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 Anything arbitrary, such as an arithmetical value or a fee.
"And in this long chain of consistence, a chain stretching from the long dead to the far unborn, the notion of the arbitrary could only survive as the notion of a pre-established arbitrary."
- 1 Based on individual discretion or judgment; not based on any objective distinction, perhaps even made at random. usually
"Benjamin Franklin's designation of "positive" and "negative" to different charges was arbitrary."
- 2 Determined by impulse rather than reason; often connoting heavy-handedness.
"1937/1938, Albert Einstein, letter to Max Born The Russian trials were Stalin's purges, with which he attempted to consolidate his power. Like most people in the West, I believed these show trials to be the arbitrary acts of a cruel dictator."
- 3 Any, out of all that are possible.
"The equation is true for an arbitrary value of x."
- 4 Determined by independent arbiter.
- 5 Not representative or symbolic; not iconic.
- 1 based on or subject to individual discretion or preference or sometimes impulse or caprice wordnet
Example
More examples"My mother prefers the arbitrary selection of the lottery machines over my lucky numbers."
Etymology
From Middle English arbitrarie, Latin arbitrārius (“arbitrary, uncertain”), from arbiter (“witness, on-looker, listener, judge, overseer”).
Related phrases
More for "arbitrary"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.