Arbitrary

 WORD OF THE DAY 

arbitrary / adjective / AHR-buh-trair-ee

Definition
1a: existing or coming about seemingly at random or by chance or as a capricious and unreasonable act of will
1b: based on or determined by individual preference or convenience rather than by necessity or the intrinsic nature of something
2a: not restrained or limited in the exercise of power
2b: ruling by absolute authority
2c: marked by or resulting from the unrestrained and often tyrannical exercise of power
3 (law): depending on individual discretion (as of a judge) and not fixed by law

Examples
"It is common business knowledge that baby boomers outspend consumers from any other age cohort. It just hasn't been fashionable to say so in public. Yet, all that is changing and for reasons that could be market-driven but also as arbitrary as most else in fashion."
— Guy Trebay, The New York Times, 20 Jan. 2022

Darwin's emphasis on how populations gradually change gave the notion of species a more arbitrary quality: Species had whatever boundaries taxonomists chose. The idea of a species as a population of individuals that breed mostly with each other comes from 20th-century theorists.
— S. Milius, Science News, 25 Mar. 2006

Did You Know?
Arbitrary comes from Latin arbiter, which means "judge" and is the source of the English arbiter.
In English, arbitrary first meant "depending upon choice or discretion" and was specifically used to indicate the sort of decision (as for punishment) left up to the expert determination of a judge rather than defined by law.
Today, it can also be used for anything determined by or as if by a personal choice or whim.