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- pronunciation:
- ar
bih
trer
i
- features:
- Word Combinations (adjective)
| part of speech: |
adjective |
| definition 1: |
resulting from whim or caprice instead of from a rule or reason.
The committee's decision seemed completely arbitrary.- synonyms:
- capricious, fanciful, unreasonable, wayward, whimsical
- antonyms:
- legitimate, rational
- similar words:
- crotchety, irrational
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| definition 2: |
exercising power with no legal restrictions; despotic.
One arbitrary leader after another ruled the country during this period of instability.- synonyms:
- despotic, domineering, high-handed, tyrannical, tyrannous, unlimited, unrestrained
- similar words:
- autocratic, dictatorial, imperious
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| definition 3: |
arrived at by an arbiter or judge.
There was an arbitrary settlement of the case.- synonyms:
- adjudicated, arbitrated
- similar words:
- settled
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| related words: |
absolute, contingent, fortuitous, haphazard, overbearing, random |
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| derivations: |
arbitrarily (adv.), arbitrariness (n.) |
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