arbitrary
ar·bit·rary
adjective
1.
based on or subject to individual discretion or preference or sometimes impulse or caprice
- “an arbitrary decision”
- “the arbitrary rule of a dictator”
- “an arbitrary penalty”
- “of arbitrary size and shape”
- “an arbitrary choice”
- “arbitrary division of the group into halves”
Origin
From Middle English arbitrarie, Latin arbitrārius (“arbitrary, uncertain”), from arbiter (“witness, on-looker, listener, judge, overseer”).
Phrases
- arbitrary and capricious
- arbitrary law
- arbitrary unit
- arbitrary-precision arithmetic
WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.