arbitrary

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.

Immigration advocates challenge ICE’s policy governing these arrests, arguing, among other things, that it was arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act.

From Slate • Mar. 27, 2026

In her ruling, she said the government's designation of Anthropic as a supply chain risk was "likely both contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious."

From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026

“Bad years for the S&P 500 are due to very specific factors, not just bad luck or arbitrary changes in investor sentiment,” said Nicholas Colas, co-founder of DataTrek, in commentary shared with MarketWatch on Tuesday.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 24, 2026

In it he argued that the large economic models then dominant rested on assumptions so arbitrary they were, in his word, “incredible.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026

It must accurately describe a large class of observations on the basis of a model that contains only a few arbitrary elements, and it must make definite predictions about the results of future observations.

From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking