Main Entry: ar·bi·trary

Pronunciation: \ˈär-bə-ˌtrer-ē, -ˌtre-rē\

Function: adjective

Date: 15th century

1 : depending on individual discretion (as of a judge) and not fixed by law <the manner of punishment is arbitrary>
2 a : not restrained or limited in the exercise of power : ruling by absolute authority <an arbitrary government> b : marked by or resulting from the unrestrained and often tyrannical exercise of power <protection from arbitrary arrest and detention>
3 a : based on or determined by individual preference or convenience rather than by necessity or the intrinsic nature of something <an arbitrary standard> <take any arbitrary positive number> <arbitrary division of historical studies into watertight compartments — A. J. Toynbee> b : existing or coming about seemingly at random or by chance or as a capricious and unreasonable act of will <when a task is not seen in a meaningful context it is experienced as being arbitrary — Nehemiah Jordan>

— ar·bi·trari·ly \ˌär-bə-ˈtrer-ə-lē, -ˈtre-rə-\ adverb

— ar·bi·trar·i·ness \ˈär-bə-ˌtrer-ē-nəs, -ˌtre-rē-\ noun