Prejudice vs Arbitrary - What's the difference?
prejudice | arbitrary |
(countable) An adverse judgment or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge of the facts.
* (rfdate) (Macaulay)
(countable) Any preconceived opinion or feeling, whether positive or negative.
(countable) An irrational hostile attitude, fear or hatred towards a particular group, race or religion.
(obsolete) Knowledge formed in advance; foresight, presaging.
* , II.ix:
(obsolete) Mischief; hurt; damage; injury; detriment.
* (rfdate) (Shakespeare)
To have a negative impact on someone's position, chances etc.
To cause prejudice.
(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.
As nouns the difference between prejudice and arbitrary
is that prejudice is a harm, a damage while arbitrary is anything arbitrary, such as an arithmetical value or a fee.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.prejudice
English
Alternative forms
* (archaic)Noun
- Though often misled by prejudice and passion, he was emphatically an honest man.
- I am free of all prejudices . I hate everyone equally.
- the first did in the forepart sit, / That nought mote hinder his quicke preiudize : / He had a sharpe foresight, and working wit
- (Locke)
- England and France might, through their amity, / Breed him some prejudice .
Derived terms
* (law) without prejudice – without affecting a legal interest * in prejudice of – to the detriment or injury of * to the prejudice of – with resulting harm toVerb
(prejudic)See also
* stereotype * bias * discrimination * racism English transitive verbs ----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
)
