arbitrary

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adjective

Definition of ARBITRARY

1

having or showing a tendency to force one's will on others without any regard to fairness or necessity <an arbitrary piano teacher who makes all her students do the same exercises over and over again>

Synonyms dictatorial, high-handed, imperious, peremptory, willful (or wilful)

Related Words arrogant, commanding, demanding, dominant, domineering, haughty, imperative, lordly, masterful, overbearing, presumptuous; authoritarian, autocratic (also autocratical), despotic, totalitarian, tyrannical (also tyrannic), tyrannous; capricious, changeable, erratic, inconsistent, mercurial, whimsical; biased, inequitable, partisan, prejudiced, unequal, unfair, unjust, unrealistic, unreasonable; unconscionable, unethical, unprincipled, unscrupulous

Near Antonyms balanced, disinterested, dispassionate, equal, equitable, evenhanded, fair, impartial, just, nonpartisan, objective; rational, reasonable, understanding; unbiased, unprejudiced; ethical, honorable, irreproachable, law-abiding, moral, principled, unimpeachable

2

lacking a definite plan, purpose, or pattern <the order of the names of the 10 semifinalists is entirely arbitrary>

Synonyms aimless, arbitrary, catch-as-catch-can, desultory, erratic, haphazard, helter-skelter, hit-or-miss, scattered, slapdash, stray

Related Words accidental, casual, chance, chancy, contingent, fluky (also flukey), fortuitous, inadvertent, incidental, lucky, unconsidered, unintended, unintentional, unplanned, unpremeditated; scattershot, shotgun; irregular, odd, sporadic, spot; directionless, objectless, purposeless; indiscriminate, unsystematic; undirected; disorderly, disorganized; undiscriminating, unselective

Near Antonyms established, fixed, regular, set, stable, steady; constant, continuous, even; arranged, managed, orchestrated, ordered, planned; aware, conscious, deliberate, purposeful, thoughtful, willful (or wilful)

Antonyms methodical (also methodic), nonrandom, orderly, organized, regular, systematic, systematized

3

exercising power or authority without interference by others <a nation with no tradition of democracy, only a long history of arbitrary rulers>

Synonyms arbitrary, autocratic (also autocratical), czarist (also tsarist or tzarist), despotic, dictatorial, monocratic, tyrannical (also tyrannic), tyrannous

Related Words authoritarian, jackbooted, oppressive, totalitarian; antidemocratic, antirepublican; high-handed, magisterial; domineering, imperious, masterful; all-powerful, almighty, omnipotent; autonomous, self-governing, self-ruling, sovereign (also sovran); unconditional, unlimited

Near Antonyms circumscribed, restrained, restricted; constitutional, lawful; democratic, republican

Antonyms limited