as in volatility
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Recent Examples of arbitrariness
To live in greater Los Angeles is to embrace the arbitrariness of it all.
—
Meghan Daum, The Atlantic, 15 May 2026
In both novels, young people are trying to figure out how life works, confounded by the arbitrariness of what is presented to them as natural.
—James Wood, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
Extreme violence is now a large part of this repertoire of arbitrariness.
—Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 9 Apr. 2026
The execution of Jesus reveals the utter arbitrariness of political power.
—The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 5 Apr. 2026
In an effort to construct a system of law that could prevent arbitrary outcomes, the court ended up making room for plenty of arbitrariness in who was allowed to live and who was sentenced to die.
—Literary Hub, 20 Jan. 2026
As algorithms replace human deciders, HAI-EIS fellow Kathleen Creel argues arbitrariness at scale is morally and legally problematic.
—IEEE Spectrum, 26 Mar. 2021
Meghan Daum, The Atlantic, 15 May 2026
In both novels, young people are trying to figure out how life works, confounded by the arbitrariness of what is presented to them as natural.
—James Wood, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
Extreme violence is now a large part of this repertoire of arbitrariness.
—Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 9 Apr. 2026
The execution of Jesus reveals the utter arbitrariness of political power.
—The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 5 Apr. 2026
In an effort to construct a system of law that could prevent arbitrary outcomes, the court ended up making room for plenty of arbitrariness in who was allowed to live and who was sentenced to die.
—Literary Hub, 20 Jan. 2026
As algorithms replace human deciders, HAI-EIS fellow Kathleen Creel argues arbitrariness at scale is morally and legally problematic.
—IEEE Spectrum, 26 Mar. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for arbitrariness
Noun
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Foreign governments are dumping US Treasury bonds to stabilize their currencies amid the energy shock and financial volatility triggered by the Iran war.—
Tasneem Nashrulla,
semafor.com,
19 May 2026
-
The landmark debut — and the potential capacity squeeze caused by other blockbuster listings in the pipeline, such as OpenAI — further complicates the outlook for Europe's IPO space, which is already grappling with ongoing bond market volatility and the prospect of looming interest rate hikes.—
Hugh Leask,
CNBC,
19 May 2026
Noun
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Harris drove in three runs in the 11-5 win, offering a reminder of baseball’s fickleness.—
Chandler Rome,
New York Times,
1 May 2026
-
Newsom explains his fickleness differently.—
Nathan Heller,
New Yorker,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Of course, in addition to being perfect by becoming a doctor, John had selected, despite her eccentricities, the perfect mate in their parents’ eyes.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 May 2026
-
Still, even an understanding of Turner’s eccentricities didn’t prepare the Braves to learn the morning of their game against Pittsburgh that the team’s owner was now the manager.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
6 May 2026
Noun
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However, the primary contractor for the Habitation and Logistics Outpost, Northrop Grumman, soon acknowledged there was a manufacturing irregularity.—
Eric Berger,
ArsTechnica,
27 Apr. 2026
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As an example of this irregularity, between 2000 and 2099, there will be 25 leap days, including the starting year, but in the following three centuries, there will only be 24 leap days.—
Manon Bischoff,
Scientific American,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Scientific and engineering advances don't do well in the face of such wild swings and inconstancy.—
Eric Berger,
ArsTechnica,
18 Aug. 2025
-
Europeans, awakened to the danger of American inconstancy, are scrambling to spend trillions more on defense in coming years.—
Adam Rasmi,
Time,
20 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Arbitrariness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/arbitrariness. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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