arbitrarily
Americanadverb
-
based on the judgment or will of an individual.
The Fourth Amendment protects my right to not be arbitrarily searched.
-
without an apparent reason or pattern; randomly; capriciously.
There is no need to stop living life to its fullest simply because we have reached some arbitrarily set age for what broader society calls “retirement.”
Other Word Forms
- nonarbitrarily adverb
- unarbitrarily adverb
Etymology
Origin of arbitrarily
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The UN says 73 of its staff "remain arbitrarily detained" by the Houthis, with some of these detentions going back to 2021.
From BBC
Dr. Prasad’s kill shot last week is part of a broader pattern in which he has arbitrarily changed standards for approving new drugs and reversed the agency’s prior guidance.
Taxes arbitrarily imposed by the executive because, say, someone was rude to him would seem to go against both the letter and the spirit of the revolution of 1776.
From MarketWatch
The deal was also criticised by Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse, who says she was "arbitrarily denied entry" to Hong Kong to visit her newborn grandson last year.
From BBC
Neither you nor your sibling, acting alone as a beneficiary — or even as a co-trustee — can arbitrarily retitle land that has been properly placed in a trust.
From MarketWatch
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
