random
adjective
- unpredictable outcomes; ideally all outcomes equally probable; lacking statistical correlation
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈɹændəm/
adj
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.
- Occurring for no particular reason; haphazard, unpredictable.
“Our city is plagued by random acts of violence.”
“random acts of kindness”
- 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.
“Near-synonyms: aleatory, stochastic”
“The flip of a fair coin is purely random.”
- Pseudorandom; mimicking the result of random selection.
“The rand function generates a random number from a seed.”
- Selected for no particular reason; arbitrary; unspecified.
“A random American off the street couldn't tell the difference.”
“You're just going to trust the word of random people on the Internet?”
- Being (part of) a varied, unrelated, and apparently arbitrary collection of things; diverse, heterogeneous.
“My notebook has turned into a random collection of thoughts.”
“I brought a bunch of random snacks, but nothing nutritious.”
- 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.”
“Thank you for that completely random comment... now, let's get back to our actual topic of discussion.”
- 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.”
- Being out of the ordinary; unusual or unexpected; odd, strange, bizarre.
“That's a rather random fact!”
“I can't believe he would say that. That's so random!”
noun
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.
- A roving motion; course without definite direction; lack of rule or method; chance.
“Still take advice ; though counsels, when they fly / At random, sometimes hit most happily.”
“O ! many a shaft, at random sent, / Finds mark the archer little meant !”
- Speed, full speed; impetuosity, force.
“they were messagers vnto kyng Ban & Bors sent from kynge Arthur / therfor said the viij knyghtes ye shalle dye or be prysoners / for we ben knyghtes of kyng Claudas And therwith two of them dressid theire sperys / and Vlfyus and Brastias dressid theire speres and ranne to gyder with grete raundon”
“[…] for coragiouſly the two kynges newely foughte with great randon and force, they ſhewed their vigors and ſtrengthes and did ſo nobly that their coũter parties had none aduaũtage.”
- The full range of a bullet or other projectile; hence, the angle at which a weapon is tilted to allow the greatest range.
“Fortie yards will they shoot levell, or very neare the marke, and 120 is their best at Random.”
“[…] the angle at which the miſſive is to mount by ( if we will have it go to its furtheſt randome ) muſt be the half of a right one […]”
- An undefined, unknown or unimportant person; a person of no consequence.
“The party was boring. It was full of randoms.”
“‘The days I had to have sex with randoms, I thought thank God!’ Jamie Bell on eye-popping drama Half Man [title]”
- The direction of a rake-vein.
- A frame for composing type.
“Utilization of all floor space underneath case racks and randoms is another feature of the modern composing room; […]”
“Printers' frames and randoms”
verb
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.
- To wander; to stray; to meander.