adjective · common

random

random · more random · most random

випадковий

случайный, произвольный, первый попавшийся, псевдослучайный

zufällig, Durchschnitts-

Occurring for no particular reasonOccurring for no particular reason; haphazard, unpredictable.

ⓘ

/ˈɹændəm/

» The people for the experiment were chosen at random.

Meaning

8 senses

Occurring for no particular reason; haphazard, unpredictable.
Our city is plagued by random acts of violence.
random acts of kindness
zufällig
случа́йныйslučájnyj, рандо́мныйrandómnyj
випадко́вийvypadkóvyj
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.
случа́йныйslučájnyj, рандо́мныйrandómnyj
Pseudorandom; mimicking the result of random selection.
The rand function generates a random number from a seed.
zufällig
случа́йныйslučájnyj, псевдослуча́йныйpsevdoslučájnyj
(informal)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?
(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.
I brought a bunch of random snacks, but nothing nutritious.
(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.
Thank you for that completely random comment... now, let's get back to our actual topic of discussion.
random
неуме́стныйneuméstnyj
недоцільнийnedocilʹnyj, недоречнийnedorečnyj
(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.
(UK, slang)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!

More definitions

lacking any definite plan or order or purpose; governed by or depending on chance

Examples

165 sentences

The people for the experiment were chosen at random.
CC BY 2.0 FR · Tatoeba · CK · B1Open on Tatoeba Report a problem
We picked the number at random.
ruМы выбрали число наугад. — marafon
deWir haben die Zahl zufällig ausgewählt. — Esperantostern
CC BY 2.0 FR · Tatoeba · darinmex · B1Open on Tatoeba Report a problem
It's not really random.
CC BY 2.0 FR · Tatoeba · CK · B1Open on Tatoeba Report a problem
It isn't really random.
CC BY 2.0 FR · Tatoeba · CK · B1Open on Tatoeba Report a problem
They were chosen at random.
ruОни были выбраны наугад. — marafon
deDie sind nach dem Zufallsprinzip ausgewählt worden. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
CC BY 2.0 FR · Tatoeba · jshholland · B1Open on Tatoeba Report a problem

Translations

9 languages

Українська

By meaning 2

all outcomes being unpredictable:

apropos of nothing:

Русский

By meaning 4

undistinguished, average:

all outcomes being unpredictable:

computing: pseudorandom:

apropos of nothing:

Deutsch

By meaning 3

undistinguished, average:

all outcomes being unpredictable:

apropos of nothing:

Origin

From earlier randon, from Middle English randoun, raundon, from Old French randon, from ra

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.

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