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arbitraire

arbitrary

adjective ar-bee-TREHR Rare

Origin: Latin 'arbitrarius'

Usage Note

Arbitraire describes a decision or action based on personal whim rather than rules or reason. In political discourse, le pouvoir arbitraire means tyrannical or unchecked power. As a noun (l'arbitraire), it refers to arbitrariness itself — l'arbitraire du signe linguistique is a key concept in Saussurean linguistics.

Examples

"Cette décision me semble complètement arbitraire."

Natural Translation

This decision seems completely arbitrary to me.

Literal Translation

This decision to-me seems completely arbitrary

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