Arbitrary vs Tyranny - What's the difference?
arbitrary | tyranny |
(usually, of a decision) Based on individual discretion or judgment; not based on any objective distinction, perhaps even made at random.
Determined by impulse rather than reason; heavy-handed.
(mathematics) Any and all possible.
Determined by independent arbiter.
Anything arbitrary, such as an arithmetical value or a fee.
A government in which a single ruler (a tyrant) has absolute power; this system of government.
The office or jurisdiction of an absolute ruler.
Absolute power, or its use.
Extreme severity or rigour.
As nouns the difference between arbitrary and tyranny
is that arbitrary is anything arbitrary, such as an arithmetical value or a fee while tyranny is a government in which a single ruler (a tyrant) has absolute power; this system of government.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)- 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.
- "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
)
- The equation is true for an arbitrary value of x.
- 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
)