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arbitrary
1: depending on individual discretion (as of a judge) and not fixed by law <the manner of punishment is arbitrary>2 a: not restrained or limited in the exercise of power : ruling by absolute authority <an arbitrary government> b: marked by or resulting from the unrestrained and often tyrannical exercise of power <protection from arbitrary arrest and detention>3 a: based on or determined by individual preference or convenience rather than by necessity or the intrinsic nature of something <an arbitrary standard> <take any arbitrary positive number> <arbitrary division of historical studies into watertight compartments
— A. J. Toynbee> b: existing or coming about seemingly at random or by chance or as a capricious and unreasonable act of will <when a task is not seen in a meaningful context it is experienced as being arbitrary
— Nehemiah Jordan>
— ar·bi·trari·ly
\ˌär-bə-ˈtrer-ə-lē, -ˈtre-rə-\
adverb
— ar·bi·trar·i·ness
\ˈär-bə-ˌtrer-ē-nəs, -ˌtre-rē-\
noun
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