Word family noun arbitrariness adjective arbitrary adverb arbitrarily
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englisharbitraryar‧bi‧tra‧ry /ˈɑːbətrəri, -tri $ ˈɑːrbətreri/ ●○○ AWL adjective CHANCE/BY CHANCEdecided or arranged without any reason or plan, often unfairly an arbitrary decision the arbitrary arrests of political opponents —arbitrariness noun [uncountable] —arbitrarily /ˈɑːbətrərəli $ ˌɑːrbəˈtrerəli/ adverb an arbitrarily chosen numberExamples from the Corpus
arbitrary• You see that the ornaments we are discussing are nothing if not arbitrary.• Casinos sound such arbitrary and decadent places; nobody would want their economy's fate to be determined in one.• Throughout the day, repeal supporters argued that the ban on some types of weapons is arbitrary and unconstitutional.• The government has carried out numerous executions and arbitrary arrests.• The fans complained about the apparently arbitrary distribution of tickets for the next game.• But these images were not arbitrary, let alone trivial.• In the absence of any clear division between administrative and judicial functions, even the humblest official enjoyed arbitrary power.• We had to tell the truth, and we were then judged by mysterious, arbitrary standards.• The way the programme of events is organized seems completely arbitrary to me.arbitrary decision• Case law has shown that court rulings on these kind of scenarios have resulted in arbitrary decisions.• They want continuity of policy, not capricious or arbitrary decisions.• No element in glass to rest on my own arbitrary decision alone, he wrote.• He infuriated his allies with his arbitrary decisions and devious ways.• This effectively enables the Home Office to make arbitrary decisions, deporting people as they see fit, without any independent inquiry.Origin arbitrary (1400-1500) Latin arbitrarius “depending on the decision of a judge, uncertain”, from arbiter; → ARBITER 