Word of the Day:

February 27, 2022

arbitrary

adjective AHR-buh-trair-ee

What it Means

Arbitrary means "determined, planned, or chosen seemingly at random or by chance."

// Because the committee wasn't transparent about the selection process, the results of the process appeared to be wholly arbitrary.

// People often make arbitrary decisions on where to go out to eat.

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Arbitrary in Context

"It is common business knowledge that baby boomers outspend consumers from any other age cohort. It just hasn't been fashionable to say so in public. Yet, all that is changing and for reasons that could be market-driven but also as arbitrary as most else in fashion." — Guy Trebay, The New York Times, 20 Jan. 2022

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Did You Know?

Arbitrary comes from Latin arbiter, which means "judge" and is the source of the English arbiter. In English, arbitrary first meant "depending upon choice or discretion" and was specifically used to indicate the sort of decision (as for punishment) left up to the expert determination of a judge rather than defined by law. Today, it can also be used for anything determined by or as if by a personal choice or whim.

Quiz

Fill in the blanks to complete a word that refers to the power of choosing or determining: v _ _ _t _ _n.

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