arbitrary
adjective
1. based on or subject to individual discretion or preference or sometimes impulse or caprice
- an arbitrary decision
- the arbitrary rule of a dictator
- an arbitrary penalty
Similar word(s): absolute, capricious, impulsive, whimsical, discretional, discretionary
Sentences with arbitrary as an adjective:
- Benjamin Franklin's designation of "positive" and "negative" to different charges was arbitrary. In fact, electrons flow in the opposite direction to conventional current.
- The decision to use 18 years as the legal age of adulthood was arbitrary, as both age 17 and 19 were reasonable alternatives.
- "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." (Max Born, Letters to Einstein)
- The equation is true for an arbitrary value of x.
noun
1. Anything arbitrary, such as an arithmetical value or a fee.