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Arbitrary vs Manipulative - What's the difference?

arbitrary | manipulative |

As adjectives the difference between arbitrary and manipulative

is that arbitrary is (usually|of a decision) based on individual discretion or judgment; not based on any objective distinction, perhaps even made at random while manipulative is using manipulation purposefully.

As nouns the difference between arbitrary and manipulative

is that arbitrary is anything arbitrary, such as an arithmetical value or a fee while manipulative is a manipulable object designed to demonstrate a mathematical concept.

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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    manipulative

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Using manipulation purposefully.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2012-01
    • , author=Robert M. Pringle , title=How to Be Manipulative , volume=100, issue=1, page=31 , magazine= citation , passage=As in much of biology, the most satisfying truths in ecology derive from manipulative experimentation. Tinker with nature and quantify how it responds.}}
  • Tending to manipulate others.
  • (pejorative) Reaching one's goals at the expense of other people by using them.

    • Noun

    (en noun) (Mathematical manipulative)
  • A manipulable object designed to demonstrate a mathematical concept.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2008, date=April 25, author=Kenneth Chang, title=Study Suggests Math Teachers Scrap Balls and Slices, work=New York Times citation
    • , passage=Some children need manipulatives to learn math basics, Dr. Clements said, but only as a starting point. }} ----