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Authoritative vs Arbitrary - What's the difference?

authoritative | arbitrary | Related terms |

Authoritative is a related term of arbitrary.


As adjectives the difference between authoritative and arbitrary

is that authoritative is arising or originating from a figure of authority while arbitrary is (usually|of a decision) based on individual discretion or judgment; not based on any objective distinction, perhaps even made at random.

As a noun arbitrary is

anything arbitrary, such as an arithmetical value or a fee.

authoritative

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Arising or originating from a figure of authority
    • The authoritative rules in this school come not from the headmaster but from the aged matron.
  • Highly accurate or definitive; treated or worthy of treatment as a scholarly authority
    • This book is the world's most authoritative guide to insect breeding habits.
  • Having a commanding style.
    • He instructed us in that booming, authoritative voice of his.

    Synonyms

    * (highly accurate) definitive; precise, proper * (from a position of authority) of record

    Derived terms

    * authoritatively * authoritativeness

    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)

    Related terms

    * arbit * arbiter * arbitrable * arbitrage * arbitrarily * arbitrariness * arbitrary and capricious * arbitrate * arbitration * arbitrator

    Noun

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

    • External links

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