different between indiscriminate vs arbitrary

English

Etymology

From Latin in- + discriminatum, past participle of discriminare (“to divide”). Confer crime.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?n.d?s?k??m.?n.?t/

Adjective

indiscriminate (comparative more indiscriminate, superlative most indiscriminate)

1. Without care or making distinctions, thoughtless.

   How can anyone be so indiscriminate in making friends as he is?

Synonyms

• promiscuous

Derived terms

• indiscriminately
• indiscriminative

Translations

Italian

Adjective

indiscriminate f pl

1. feminine plural of indiscriminato

English

Etymology

From Middle English arbitrarie, Latin arbitr?rius (“arbitrary, uncertain”), from arbiter (“witness, on-looker, listener, judge, overseer”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /???.b?.t??.?i/, /???.b?.t?i/
• (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /???.b?.t??(?).?i/

Adjective

arbitrary (comparative more arbitrary, superlative most arbitrary)

1. (usually of a decision) Based on individual discretion or judgment; not based on any objective distinction, perhaps even made at random.

2. Determined by impulse rather than reason; heavy-handed.
   • 1937/1938, Albert Einstein, letter to Max Born

   • 1906, Gelett Burgess, Are You a Bromide?

3. (mathematics) Any, out of all that are possible.

4. Determined by independent arbiter.
5. (linguistics) Not representative or symbolic; not iconic.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Noun

arbitrary (plural arbitraries)

1. Anything arbitrary, such as an arithmetical value or a fee.

Further reading

• arbitrary in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• arbitrary in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• arbitrariness on Wikipedia.Wikipedia