random
/ˈɹændəm/ noun, adjective, verb
Forms randoms randoming randomed
- noun (now only in the phrase at random) A roving motion; course without definite direction; lack of rule or method; chance.
- noun (obsolete) Speed, full speed; impetuosity, force.
- noun (obsolete) The full range of a bullet or other projectile; hence, the angle at which a weapon is tilted to allow the greatest range.
- noun (figuratively, colloquial) An undefined, unknown or unimportant person; a person of no consequence. “The party was boring. It was full of randoms.”
- noun (mining) The direction of a rake-vein.
- noun (printing, historical) A frame for composing type.
- adjective Occurring for no particular reason; haphazard, unpredictable. “Our city is plagued by random acts of violence.”
- adjective (statistics) Involving an outcome which is impossible to predict, but which may be represented by a probability distribution; in the ideal case, involving outcomes which are equally likely. “The flip of a fair coin is purely random.”
- adjective (computing) Pseudorandom; mimicking the result of random selection. “The rand function generates a random number from a seed.”
- adjective (informal) Selected for no particular reason; arbitrary; unspecified. “A random American off the street couldn't tell the difference.”
- adjective (informal) Being (part of) a varied, unrelated, and apparently arbitrary collection of things; diverse, heterogeneous. “My notebook has turned into a random collection of thoughts.”
- adjective (informal) Apropos of nothing; lacking context, relevance, or any connection to the previous situation; unexpected. “This random guy just came up to me to say that he was a fan of my work.”
- adjective (informal) Of a person: characterized by or often saying random things; habitually using non sequiturs. “You're so random! I never know what you're going to do next.”
- adjective (UK, slang) Being out of the ordinary; unusual or unexpected; odd, strange, bizarre. “That's a rather random fact!”
- verb (intransitive, now uncommon) To wander; to stray; to meander.
Synonyms
force momentum speed velocity rando nobody nonentity vagrant desultory aleatory stochastic
Antonyms
Etymology
From earlier randon, from Middle English randoun, raundon, from Old French randon, from randir (“to run, gallop”) (whence French randonnée (“long walk, hike”)), from Frankish *randiju (“a run, race”) or Old Norse rend (“a run, race”), both from Proto-Germanic *randijō, from *rinnaną (“run”, verb), from Proto-Indo-European *(H)r̥-nw- (“to flow, move, run”). Cognate with Middle Low German uprinden (“to jump up”), Danish rende (“to run”). See run.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Force; violence. [Obs.]
- noun A roving motion; course without definite direction; want of direction, rule, or method; hazard; chance; --commonly used in the phrase at random, that is, without a settled point of direction; at hazard.
- adjective Going at random or by chance; done or made at hazard, or without settled direction, aim, or purpose; hazarded without previous calculation; left to chance; haphazard; as, a random guess.
Etymology [OE. randon, OF. randon force, violence, rapidity, a randon, de randon, violently, suddenly, rapidly, prob. of German origin; cf. G. rand edge, border, OHG. rant shield, edge of a shield, akin to E. rand, n. See Rand, n.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “random”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details