arbitrary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

arbitrary

SYLLABICATION:	ar·bi·trar·y
PRONUNCIATION:	ärb-trr
ADJECTIVE:	1. Determined by chance, whim, or impulse, and not by necessity, reason, or principle: stopped at the first motel we passed, an arbitrary choice. 2. Based on or subject to individual judgment or preference: The diet imposes overall calorie limits, but daily menus are arbitrary. 3. Established by a court or judge rather than by a specific law or statute: an arbitrary penalty. 4. Not limited by law; despotic: the arbitrary rule of a dictator.
ETYMOLOGY:	Middle English arbitrarie, from Latin arbitrrius, from arbiter, arbitr-, arbiter.
OTHER FORMS:	arbi·trari·ly (-trâr-l) —ADVERB arbi·trari·ness —NOUN
SYNONYMS:	arbitrary, capricious, whimsical These adjectives mean determined by or arising from whim or caprice rather than judgment or reason: an arbitrary decision; a capricious refusal; a whimsical remark.


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.