Ar"bi*tra*ry (?), a. [L.
arbitrarius, fr. arbiter: cf. F. arbitraire. See
Arbiter.] 1. 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.
Jer. Taylor.
Rank pretends to fix the value of every one, and is the most
arbitrary of all things.
Landor.
2. 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.
Washington.
3. Despotic; absolute in power; bound by no law;
harsh and unforbearing; tyrannical; as, an arbitrary prince or
government.
Dryden.
Arbitrary constant, Arbitrary
function (Math.), a quantity of function that is
introduced into the solution of a problem, and to which any value or form
may at will be given, so that the solution may be made to meet special
requirements. -- Arbitrary quantity (Math.),
one to which any value can be assigned at pleasure.