randomness

noun

ran·​dom·​ness ˈran-dəm-nəs How to pronounce randomness (audio)
: the quality or state of being or seeming random (as in lacking or seeming to lack a definite plan, purpose, or pattern)
… the metaphor of a coin flip for randomness remains unquestioned. We use coin tosses to settle disputes and decide outcomes because we believe they are unbiased, with 50-50 odds. Yet recent research into coin flips has discovered that the laws of mechanics determine the outcome of coin tosses …David E. Adler
the randomness of life

Examples of randomness in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web There’s this element of randomness to the precipitation of my medical treatment. Isabella Cueto, STAT, 8 Mar. 2024 There's a temptation to throw logic out the window in these episodes, but throwing each story's internal logic away in pursuit of usually not very big laughs too often smacks of randomness for its own sake. Dennis Perkins, EW.com, 24 Nov. 2023 This question is central to numerous fields of mathematics, and mathematicians have a variety of tests to detect randomness. Christopher Lutsko, Scientific American, 30 Jan. 2024 His argument is yet another example of how randomness can be used as a tool to infer the existence of structure. Quanta Magazine, 23 Dec. 2023 There was a Mad-Libs quality to Santos’s claims, a giddy randomness that felt tuned toward social media. Amanda Hess, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2024 Further, the experiment demonstrated the randomness of mutagenesis; the mutation rate fluctuated randomly. The New Yorker, 8 Jan. 2024 Family matters enormously in Mann’s world, but family happiness is not something promised to anyone; the only certainties are the immersion of work, the fickleness of love and the terrifying randomness of death. Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2023 The hydrodynamics of marbling art Harvard University graduate student Yue Sun was fascinated by the process and the resulting patterns of making marbled paper, particularly the randomness. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 8 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'randomness.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1803, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of randomness was in 1803

Dictionary Entries Near randomness

Cite this Entry

“Randomness.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/randomness. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

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