Arbitrariness
/ˈɑːrbɪtrerinəs/noun
The quality of deciding or choosing something without reason or thought.
The arbitrariness of her decision surprised everyone.
Often appears as...
- arbitrariness of decision
- arbitrariness of choice
noun
The condition of being determined by chance, whim, or impulse, and not by necessity, reason, or principle.
Philosophers debate the arbitrariness of human existence.
Often appears as...
- arbitrariness of existence
- arbitrariness of nature
Usage tips
Formal
Academic
noun
Largest degree of discretion or lack of restraint in the exercise of power.
The arbitrariness of the king led to a rebellion.
Often appears as...
- arbitrariness of power
- arbitrariness of rule
Usage tips
Formal, Disapproving
Technical
noun
The quality of deciding or choosing something without reason or thought.
The arbitrariness of her decision surprised everyone.
Often appears as...
- arbitrariness of decision
- arbitrariness of choice
noun
The condition of being determined by chance, whim, or impulse, and not by necessity, reason, or principle.
Philosophers debate the arbitrariness of human existence.
Often appears as...
- arbitrariness of existence
- arbitrariness of nature
Usage tips
Formal
Academic
noun
Largest degree of discretion or lack of restraint in the exercise of power.
The arbitrariness of the king led to a rebellion.
Often appears as...
- arbitrariness of power
- arbitrariness of rule
Usage tips
Formal, Disapproving
Technical
Definition 1 of 3
Pro Tip 1/3Surprising Choices
Use 'arbitrariness' to show that a decision is unexpectedly made without a clear reason.
His arbitrariness in selecting team members baffled us all.
Pro Tip 2/3Negative Connotation
'Arbitrariness' often implies a negative judgment about a person's decision-making process.
The arbitrariness of the manager's policy changes upset the employees.
Pro Tip 3/3Subjectivity
Emphasize the personal, subjective nature of a choice with 'arbitrariness'.
In art, the arbitrariness of color choice can be a statement of style.
Compare with
capricecertaintychanceconsistencyimpulsiverandomvolatilitywhim
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Quote examples
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
American Architect
Education must lead us from the irresponsible opinion to true responsible judgment. It must lead us from chance and arbitrariness to rational clarity and intellectual order. Therefore, let us guide our students over the road of discipline from materials, through function, to creative work.
Quote examples
Zygmunt Bauman
Polish Sociologist
I suspect that one of capitalism's crucial assets derives from the fact that the imagination of economists, including its critics, lags well behind its own inventiveness, the arbitrariness of its undertaking and the ruthlessness of the way in which it proceeds.
Quote examples
Emil Cioran
Romanian Philosopher
However much I have frequented the mystics, deep down I have always sided with the Devil; unable to equal him in power, I have tried to be worthy of him, at least, in insolence, acrimony, arbitrariness and caprice.
Quote examples
Brie Larson
American Actress
The entire process of making a movie is sort of blind trust because, otherwise, all of it just doesn't make any sense: the fact that we can create any sense of reality or emotion given the arbitrariness of a day.
Quote examples
Milton Glaser
American Designer
All the things you're not supposed to do at the beginning of your professional life - transgressiveness, arbitrariness and violating expectations - you find more attractive at the end of your professional life.
Quote examples
Joseph Brodsky
American Poet
Nothing convinces an artist more of the arbitrariness of the means to which he resorts to attain a goal - however permanent it may be - than the creative process itself, the process of composition.
Quote examples
Jeff Bridges
American Actor
The Widelux is a fickle mistress; its viewfinder isn't accurate, and there's no manual focus, so it has an arbitrariness to it, a capricious quality. I like that.
Quote examples
Igor Stravinsky
Russian Composer
The more constraints one imposes, the more one frees one's self. And the arbitrariness of the constraint serves only to obtain precision of execution.
Quote examples
Pope Benedict XVI
German Clergyman
Liberty isn't liberalism, arbitrariness, but it's connected; it's conditioned by the great values of love and solidarity and in general by the good.
Quote examples
John McWhorter
American Writer
As a linguist, I see the arbitrariness of strictures editors force on me as a writer.
Quote examples
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
American Architect
Education must lead us from the irresponsible opinion to true responsible judgment. It must lead us from chance and arbitrariness to rational clarity and intellectual order. Therefore, let us guide our students over the road of discipline from materials, through function, to creative work.
Quote examples
Zygmunt Bauman
Polish Sociologist
I suspect that one of capitalism's crucial assets derives from the fact that the imagination of economists, including its critics, lags well behind its own inventiveness, the arbitrariness of its undertaking and the ruthlessness of the way in which it proceeds.
Quote examples
Emil Cioran
Romanian Philosopher
However much I have frequented the mystics, deep down I have always sided with the Devil; unable to equal him in power, I have tried to be worthy of him, at least, in insolence, acrimony, arbitrariness and caprice.
Quote examples
Brie Larson
American Actress
The entire process of making a movie is sort of blind trust because, otherwise, all of it just doesn't make any sense: the fact that we can create any sense of reality or emotion given the arbitrariness of a day.
Quote examples
Milton Glaser
American Designer
All the things you're not supposed to do at the beginning of your professional life - transgressiveness, arbitrariness and violating expectations - you find more attractive at the end of your professional life.
Quote examples
Joseph Brodsky
American Poet
Nothing convinces an artist more of the arbitrariness of the means to which he resorts to attain a goal - however permanent it may be - than the creative process itself, the process of composition.
Quote examples
Jeff Bridges
American Actor
The Widelux is a fickle mistress; its viewfinder isn't accurate, and there's no manual focus, so it has an arbitrariness to it, a capricious quality. I like that.
Quote examples
Igor Stravinsky
Russian Composer
The more constraints one imposes, the more one frees one's self. And the arbitrariness of the constraint serves only to obtain precision of execution.
Quote examples
Pope Benedict XVI
German Clergyman
Liberty isn't liberalism, arbitrariness, but it's connected; it's conditioned by the great values of love and solidarity and in general by the good.
Quote examples
John McWhorter
American Writer
As a linguist, I see the arbitrariness of strictures editors force on me as a writer.
Example 1 of 10
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