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Definitions

arbitrary

[ahr-bi-trer-ee] / ˈɑr bɪˌtrɛr i /




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.

All this variance and randomness, all these rules on top of regulations, none of it is exactly arbitrary, but neither is it fair.

From Los Angeles Times • May 27, 2026

A Federal Reserve paper published last year found substantial and arbitrary variation in agent commissions across metropolitan areas.

From MarketWatch • May 19, 2026

Perec was a member of Oulipo, an avant-garde circle of writers and mathematicians who believed that arbitrary rules imposed in advance of writing were the path to creative discovery.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026

A Scottish activist who has spent eight years in "arbitrary detention" in India is enduring "a form of psychological torture", United Nations experts have said.

From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026

It would never have occurred to them that they could be persuaded to reach a conclusion by something so arbitrary and seemingly insignificant as a smile or a nod from a newscaster.

From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell




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