arbitrarily

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

East Coast suggests White House recognition that such agreements can’t be ended arbitrarily, the analysts said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

Coyle, from Colorado, was arrested in January 2025, according to the Foley Foundation, which advocates for the release of Americans taken hostage or arbitrarily detained abroad.

From Barron's • Mar. 24, 2026

The UN says 73 of its staff "remain arbitrarily detained" by the Houthis, with some of these detentions going back to 2021.

From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026

Taxes arbitrarily imposed by the executive because, say, someone was rude to him would seem to go against both the letter and the spirit of the revolution of 1776.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 11, 2026

It seemed unnecessarily cruel to make an old man wear a cap sideways like that and arbitrarily re-order the way in which age chose to hang from his chin.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy