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, random, catch-as-catch-can, desultory, erratic, haphazard, helter-skelter, hit-or-miss, scattered, slapdash, strayRelated 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, unselectiveNear 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 absolute, autocratic (also autocratical), czarist (also tsarist or tzarist), despotic, dictatorial, monocratic, tyrannical (also tyrannic), tyrannousRelated 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, unlimitedNear Antonyms circumscribed, restrained, restricted; constitutional, lawful; democratic, republicanAntonyms limited