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Arbitrary vs Personal - What's the difference?

arbitrary | personal | Synonyms |

Arbitrary is a synonym of personal.


As nouns the difference between arbitrary and personal

is that arbitrary is anything arbitrary, such as an arithmetical value or a fee while personal is staff (employees of a business).

As an adjective arbitrary

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

arbitrary

English

Adjective

(arbitrariness) (en adjective)
  • (usually, of a decision) 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 . In fact, electrons flow in the opposite direction to conventional current.
    The decision to use 18 years as the legal age of adulthood was arbitrary , as both age 17 and 19 were reasonable alternatives.
  • Determined by impulse rather than reason; heavy-handed.
  • "The Russian trials were Stalin's purges, with which he attempted to consolidate his power. Like most people in the West, I believed these show trials to be the arbitrary acts of a cruel dictator." ( Max Born, Letters to Einstein)
  • (mathematics) Any and all possible.
  • The equation is true for an arbitrary value of x.
  • Determined by independent arbiter.
  • To secure food safety, there should first be a national standard to arbitrarily state what is wholesome and what is not; second, the final buyer should know exactly what he is purchasing. ( The World's Work ...: a history of our time)

    Noun

    (arbitraries)
  • Anything arbitrary, such as an arithmetical value or a fee.
  • personal

    English

    (Webster 1913)

    Alternative forms

    * personall (obsolete)

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Pertaining to human beings as distinct from things.
  • Of or pertaining to a particular person; relating to, or affecting, an individual, or each of many individuals; peculiar or proper to private concerns; not public or general
  • Pertaining to the external or bodily appearance; corporeal.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers)
  • , chapter=5, title= A Cuckoo in the Nest , passage=The most rapid and most seductive transition in all human nature is that which attends the palliation of a ravenous appetite.
  • Done in person; without the intervention of another.
  • * White
  • This immediate and personal speaking of God Almighty to Abraham, Job and Moses,
  • Relating to an individual, his character, conduct, motives, or private affairs, in an invidious and offensive manner; as, personal reflections or remarks.
  • (label) Denoting a person.
  • Usage notes

    Not to be confused with .

    Synonyms

    * (l)

    Derived terms

    * personal capital * personal fiduciary * personal lubricant * personal trainer

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An advertisement by which individuals attempt to meet others with similar interests.
  • A movable; a chattel.
  • Statistics

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    Anagrams

    * ----