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Arbitrary vs Erroneous - What's the difference?

arbitrary | erroneous |

As adjectives the difference between arbitrary and erroneous

is that arbitrary is based on individual discretion or judgment; not based on any objective distinction, perhaps even made at random while erroneous is containing an error; inaccurate.

As a noun arbitrary

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

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

    * *

    erroneous

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Containing an error; inaccurate.
  • * His answer to the sum was erroneous .
  • Derived from an error.
  • * His conclusion was erroneous as it was based on a false assumption.
  • Mistaken.
  • * His choice at the line-up was erroneous as he had only seen the mugger for an instant.
  • (legal) signifies a deviation from the requirements of the law, but does not connote a lack of legal authority, and is thus distinguished from illegal.
  • * If, while having the power to act, one commits error in the exercise of that power, he acts erroneously .

    • Usage notes

    * Nouns to which "erroneous" is often applied: impression, assumption, belief, conclusion, statement, idea, data, view, opinion, judgment, notion, decision, interpretation, diagnosis, conception, theory, reading, instruction, ruling, assessment, doctrine, advice, value, application, thinking, perception, principle, concept, action, description, record, determination, teaching, inference, premise, conviction, reasoning, argument, exclusion, calculation, inclusion, treatment, deductions, analysis.

    Synonyms

    * (containing an error) inaccurate, incorrect, wrong * (derived from an error) fallacious, false, faulty, flawed * (mistaken) mistaken, wrong *

    Derived terms

    * erroneously * erroneousness

    See also

    * fallacious