Arbitrary vs. Capricious — What's the Difference?
Difference Between Arbitrary and Capricious
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Compare with Definitions
Arbitrary
Based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system
An arbitrary decision
Capricious
Characterized by, arising from, or subject to caprice; impulsive or unpredictable
Capricious decisions.
Capricious weather.
Arbitrary
(of power or a ruling body) unrestrained and autocratic in the use of authority
A country under arbitrary government
Capricious
Impulsive and unpredictable; determined by chance, impulse, or whim.
I almost died in a capricious winter storm.
Stringent rulers are unlikely to act capriciously.
Arbitrary
(of a constant or other quantity) of unspecified value.
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Capricious
Governed or characterized by caprice; apt to change suddenly; freakish; whimsical; changeable.
A capricious partiality to the Romish practices.
Arbitrary
Determined by chance, whim, or impulse, and not by necessity, reason, or principle
Stopped at the first motel we passed, an arbitrary choice.
Capricious
Changeable;
A capricious summer breeze
Freakish weather
Arbitrary
Based on or subject to individual judgment or preference
The diet imposes overall calorie limits, but daily menus are arbitrary.
Capricious
Determined by chance or impulse or whim rather than by necessity or reason;
A capricious refusal
Authoritarian rulers are frequently capricious
The victim of whimsical persecutions
Arbitrary
(Law) Relating to a decision made by a court or legislature that lacks a grounding in law or fact
An arbitrary penalty.
Arbitrary
Not limited by law; despotic
The arbitrary rule of a dictator.
Arbitrary
Based on individual discretion or judgment; not based on any objective distinction, perhaps even made at random.
Benjamin Franklin's 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.
Arbitrary
Determined by impulse rather than reason; heavy-handed.
Arbitrary
(mathematics) Any, out of all that are possible.
The equation is true for an arbitrary value of x.
Arbitrary
Determined by independent arbiter.
Arbitrary
(linguistics) Not representative or symbolic; not iconic.
Arbitrary
Anything arbitrary, such as an arithmetical value or a fee.
Arbitrary
Depending on will or discretion; not governed by any fixed rules; as, an arbitrary decision; an arbitrary punishment.
It was wholly arbitrary in them to do so.
Rank pretends to fix the value of every one, and is the most arbitrary of all things.
Arbitrary
Exercised according to one's own will or caprice, and therefore conveying a notion of a tendency to abuse the possession of power.
Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused licentiousness.
Arbitrary
Despotic; absolute in power; bound by no law; harsh and unforbearing; tyrannical; as, an arbitrary prince or government.
Arbitrary
Based on or subject to individual discretion or preference or sometimes impulse or caprice;
An arbitrary decision
The arbitrary rule of a dictator
An arbitrary penalty
Of arbitrary size and shape
An arbitrary choice
Arbitrary division of the group into halves
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