English-Portuguese translations for arbitrary

• arbitrário
  Este é um regime arbitrário, brutal e paranóico. This is an arbitrary, brutal and paranoid regime.
  Primeiro argumento: o número é arbitrário. My first argument is that it is an arbitrary figure.
  Tudo isto é muito importante, mas também altamente arbitrário. This is all very important but also highly arbitrary.
• arbitrária
  Condenamos as execuções sumárias e arbitrárias.We deplore summary and arbitrary executions.
  Não estou a proceder a uma escolha arbitrária. I am not making an arbitrary choice.
  Prisões arbitrárias e situação política no Laos Arbitrary arrests and the political situation in Laos
• casual

Definition of arbitrary

• Based on individual discretion or judgment; not based on any objective distinction, perhaps even made at random
• Determined by impulse rather than reason; heavy-handed
• Any, out of all that are possible
• Determined by independent arbiter
• Anything arbitrary, such as an arithmetical value or a fee

Examples

• Benjamin Franklins designation of "positive" and "negative" to different charges was arbitrary
• The decision to use 18 years as the legal age of adulthood was arbitrary, as both age 17 and 19 were reasonable alternatives
• The equation is true for an arbitrary value of x

Related words

• arbitrarily
• arbitrariness
• arbitraryness
• arbitrary unit