Standard Lemma guide

random

adj · noun · verb · 16 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • răn'dəm
  • /ˈɹændəm/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ændəm
  • homophone: randem
  • CMU ARPABET: R AE1 N D AH0 M Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Occurring for no particular reason; haphazard, unpredictable.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Our city is plagued by random acts of violence.
  • random acts of kindness

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: desultory

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

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.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: mathematics, sciences, statistics

Examples

  • Near-synonyms: aleatory, stochastic
  • The flip of a fair coin is purely random.
  • The newspaper conducted a random sample of five hundred American teenagers.
  • The results of the field survey look random by several different measures.
  • A toss of a loaded die is still random, though biased.
  • July 18 2012, Scott Tobias, AV Club The Dark Knight Riseshttp://www.avclub.com/articles/the-dark-knight-rises-review-batman,82624/ Where the Joker preys on our fears of random, irrational acts of terror, Bane has an all-consuming, dictatorial agenda that’s more stable and permanent, a New World Order that’s been planned out with the precision of a military coup.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: aleatory, stochastic

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Pseudorandom; mimicking the result of random selection.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: computing, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, sciences

Examples

  • The rand function generates a random number from a seed.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adj

Meaning 4

Selected for no particular reason; arbitrary; unspecified.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal

Examples

  • 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?
  • I didn't have time to peruse the resturant's menu, so I just ordered some random dish.
  • Whatever random hobby you're into, there's an Internet community for it.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

adj

Meaning 5

Being (part of) a varied, unrelated, and apparently arbitrary collection of things; diverse, heterogeneous.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal

Examples

  • My notebook has turned into a random collection of thoughts.
  • I brought a bunch of random snacks, but nothing nutritious.
  • I mixed a bunch of random vegetables into a salad, and it actually turned out pretty good.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

adj

Meaning 6

Apropos of nothing; lacking context, relevance, or any connection to the previous situation; unexpected.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal

Examples

  • 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.
  • The teacher's bartending story was interesting, but very random.
  • I feel like pineapple is a very random thing to put on a pizza.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

adj

Meaning 7

Of a person: characterized by or often saying random things; habitually using non sequiturs.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal

Examples

  • You're so random! I never know what you're going to do next.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

adj

Meaning 8

Being out of the ordinary; unusual or unexpected; odd, strange, bizarre.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: UK, slang

Examples

  • That's a rather random fact!
  • I can't believe he would say that. That's so random!

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

noun

Meaning 9

A roving motion; course without definite direction; lack of rule or method; chance.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

10

noun

Meaning 10

Speed, full speed; impetuosity, force.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, obsolete, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: force, momentum, speed, velocity

Antonyms: none provided

11

noun

Meaning 11

The full range of a bullet or other projectile; hence, the angle at which a weapon is tilted to allow the greatest range.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, obsolete, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

12

noun

Meaning 12

An undefined, unknown or unimportant person; a person of no consequence.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: colloquial, countable, figuratively, uncountable

Examples

  • The party was boring. It was full of randoms.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: rando, nobody, nonentity

Antonyms: none provided

13

noun

Meaning 13

The direction of a rake-vein.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: business, mining

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

14

noun

Meaning 14

A frame for composing type.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, historical, uncountable

Topics: media, printing, publishing

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

15

verb

Meaning 15

To wander; to stray; to meander.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive, uncommon

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

16

adjective

Meaning 16

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

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a random choice
  • bombs fell at random
  • random movements

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: nonrandom

History

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.

Across languages

Translations

227 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: willekeurig — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Arabic: عَشْوَائِيّ (ʕašwāʔiyy) — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Armenian: պատահական (patahakan) — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Azerbaijani: təsadüfi — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Azerbaijani: necəgəldi — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Bashkir: осраҡлы (osraqlı) — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Bulgarian: случаен (slučaen) — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Catalan: aleatori — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Chinese Mandarin: 隨機 /随机 (suíjī) — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Czech: náhodný — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Danish: tilfældig — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Dutch: willekeurig — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Dutch: toevallig — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Dutch: lukraak — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Esperanto: aleatora — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Esperanto: arbitra — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Esperanto: hazarda — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Estonian: juhuslik — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Estonian: suvaline — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Faroese: tilvildarligur — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Finnish: satunnainen — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • French: aléatoire — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • French: au hasard — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Galician: aleatorio — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Georgian: შემთხვევითი (šemtxveviti) — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Georgian: არეული (areuli) — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Georgian: თვითნებითი (tvitnebiti) — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Georgian: ქაოსური (kaosuri) — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Georgian: უწესრიგო (uc̣esrigo) — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • German: zufällig — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Greek: τυχαίος (tychaíos) — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Ancient Greek: εἰκαῖος (eikaîos) — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Hebrew: אקראי (akraí) — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Hindi: यादृच्छिक (yādŕcchik) — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Hungarian: véletlenszerű — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Hungarian: véletlen — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Hungarian: random — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Icelandic: handahófskenndur — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Ido: hazarda — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Indonesian: acak — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Irish: fánach — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Irish: teagmhasach — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Italian: casuale — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Italian: fortuito — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Japanese: 任意の (nin'i no) — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Japanese: 適当な (tekitō na) — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Kazakh: кездейсоқ (kezdeisoq) — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Korean: 무작위 (mujagwi) — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Latin: fortuītus — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Luxembourgish: zoufälleg — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Macedonian: случаен (slučaen) — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Malay: rawak — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Māori: hiko — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Māori: tupurangi — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Mongolian: таамгаар (taamgaar) — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Norwegian: tilfeldig — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Norwegian: tilfellelig — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Norwegian: tilfelleleg — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Persian: تصادفی (tasâdofi) — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Polish: przypadkowy — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Polish: losowy — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Portuguese: aleatório — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Romanian: aleatoriu — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Romanian: aleatorie — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Romanian: întâmplător — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Romanian: întâmplătoare — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Russian: случа́йный (slučájnyj) — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Russian: рандо́мный (randómnyj) — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Serbo-Croatian: nasumice — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Serbo-Croatian: proizvoljno — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Sicilian: a muzzu — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Sicilian: com'è-è — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Slovak: náhodný — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Spanish: random — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Spanish: al azar — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Swedish: slumpmässig — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Swedish: oberäknelig — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Swedish: slumpartad — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Thai: สุ่ม (sùm) — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Tigrinya: ዘፈቀዳዊ (zäfäḳädawi) — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Turkish: rastgele — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Turkish: gelişigüzel — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Ukrainian: випадко́вий (vypadkóvyj) — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Vietnamese: ngẫu nhiên — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Welsh: ar hap — all outcomes being unpredictable
  • Arabic: عَشْوَائِيّ (ʕašwāʔiyy) — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • Armenian: պատահական (patahakan) — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • Azerbaijani: təsadüfi — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • Bulgarian: случаен (slučaen) — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • Catalan: aleatori — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • Esperanto: aleatora — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • Finnish: satunnainen — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • French: aléatoire — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • French: stochastique — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • Greek: τυχαίος (tychaíos) — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • Hungarian: sztochasztikus — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • Japanese: 任意の (nin'i no) — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • Japanese: 無作為な (musakui na) — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • Japanese: ランダムな (randamu na) — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • Kazakh: кездейсоқ (kezdeisoq) — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • Macedonian: случаен (slučaen) — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • Māori: matapōkere — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • Norwegian: tilfeldig — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • Norwegian: tilfellelig — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • Norwegian: tilfelleleg — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • Persian: تصادفی (tasâdofi) — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • Polish: losowy — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • Portuguese: aleatório — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • Portuguese: randômico — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • Russian: случа́йный (slučájnyj) — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • Russian: рандо́мный (randómnyj) — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • Slovak: náhodný — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • Spanish: random — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • Spanish: al azar — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • Tagalog: alisaga — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • Thai: สุ่ม (sùm) — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • Turkish: rastgele — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • Turkish: rassal — mathematics: of or relating to probability distribution
  • Catalan: pseudo-aleatori — computing: pseudorandom
  • Chinese Mandarin: 隨機 /随机 (suíjī) — computing: pseudorandom
  • Czech: pseudonáhodný — computing: pseudorandom
  • Finnish: satunnainen — computing: pseudorandom
  • Finnish: näennäissatunnainen — computing: pseudorandom
  • French: pseudo-aléatoire — computing: pseudorandom
  • German: zufällig — computing: pseudorandom
  • Hungarian: álvéletlen — computing: pseudorandom
  • Hungarian: pszeudorandom — computing: pseudorandom
  • Japanese: 任意の (nin'i no) — computing: pseudorandom
  • Japanese: ランダムな (randamu na) — computing: pseudorandom
  • Macedonian: случаен (slučaen) — computing: pseudorandom
  • Macedonian: псевдослучаен (psevdoslučaen) — computing: pseudorandom
  • Norwegian: tilfeldig — computing: pseudorandom
  • Norwegian: tilfellelig — computing: pseudorandom
  • Norwegian: tilfelleleg — computing: pseudorandom
  • Persian: تصادفی (tasâdofi) — computing: pseudorandom
  • Polish: losowy — computing: pseudorandom
  • Polish: pseudolosowy — computing: pseudorandom
  • Portuguese: aleatório — computing: pseudorandom
  • Portuguese: randômico — computing: pseudorandom
  • Portuguese: pseudo-randômico — computing: pseudorandom
  • Russian: случа́йный (slučájnyj) — computing: pseudorandom
  • Russian: псевдослуча́йный (psevdoslučájnyj) — computing: pseudorandom
  • Slovak: náhodný — computing: pseudorandom
  • Spanish: random — computing: pseudorandom
  • Spanish: al azar — computing: pseudorandom
  • Thai: สุ่มเทียม (sùm-tiiam) — computing: pseudorandom
  • Turkish: sözde rastgele — computing: pseudorandom
  • Bulgarian: произволен (proizvolen) — undistinguished, average
  • Catalan: qualsevol — undistinguished, average
  • Czech: průměrný — undistinguished, average
  • Czech: náhodný — undistinguished, average
  • Czech: neodlišitelný — undistinguished, average
  • Esperanto: hazarda — undistinguished, average
  • Esperanto: hazardeca — undistinguished, average
  • Finnish: tavallinen — undistinguished, average
  • Finnish: satunnainen — undistinguished, average
  • French: moyen — undistinguished, average
  • German: Durchschnitts- — undistinguished, average
  • Hungarian: átlagos — undistinguished, average
  • Hungarian: közönséges — undistinguished, average
  • Hungarian: szokványos — undistinguished, average
  • Hungarian: random — undistinguished, average
  • Japanese: 任意の (nin'i no) — undistinguished, average
  • Japanese: 適当な (tekitō na) — undistinguished, average
  • Japanese: 平均的な (heikin-teki na) — undistinguished, average
  • Macedonian: случаен (slučaen) — undistinguished, average
  • Polish: przeciętny — undistinguished, average
  • Polish: statystyczny — undistinguished, average
  • Russian: случа́йный (slučájnyj) — undistinguished, average
  • Russian: пе́рвый попа́вшийся (pérvyj popávšijsja) — undistinguished, average
  • Russian: произво́льный (proizvólʹnyj) — undistinguished, average
  • Slovak: ktorýkoľvek — undistinguished, average
  • Slovak: ľubovoľný — undistinguished, average
  • Spanish: random — undistinguished, average
  • Spanish: al azar — undistinguished, average
  • Swedish: vanlig — undistinguished, average
  • Thai: เฉลี่ย (chà-lìia) — undistinguished, average
  • Chinese Mandarin: 莫名其妙 (mòmíngqímiào) — apropos of nothing
  • Czech: nesouvisející — apropos of nothing
  • Danish: overflødig — apropos of nothing
  • Danish: ligegyldig — apropos of nothing
  • Finnish: satunnainen — apropos of nothing
  • Finnish: asiaankuulumaton — apropos of nothing
  • Finnish: irrallinen — apropos of nothing
  • French: sorti de nulle part — apropos of nothing
  • German: random — apropos of nothing
  • Japanese: 適当な (tekitō na) — apropos of nothing
  • Japanese: 出任せの (demakase no) — apropos of nothing
  • Japanese: 勝手気ままな (katte-kimama na) — apropos of nothing
  • Japanese: 不可解な (fukakai na) — apropos of nothing
  • Korean: 뜬금없다 (tteun'geumeopda) — apropos of nothing
  • Latin: fortūitus — apropos of nothing
  • Macedonian: бесцелен (bescelen) — apropos of nothing
  • Māori: tupurangi — apropos of nothing
  • Polish: bez związku — apropos of nothing
  • Polish: od czapy — apropos of nothing
  • Russian: неуме́стный (neuméstnyj) — apropos of nothing
  • Slovak: irelevantný — apropos of nothing
  • Slovak: odveci — apropos of nothing
  • Spanish: random — apropos of nothing
  • Spanish: al azar — apropos of nothing
  • Ukrainian: недоцільний (nedocilʹnyj) — apropos of nothing
  • Ukrainian: недоречний (nedorečnyj) — apropos of nothing
  • Galician: randón — obsolete: speed, full speed; impetuosity, force
  • Old Galician-Portuguese: randon — obsolete: speed, full speed; impetuosity, force
  • Spanish: rondón — obsolete: speed, full speed; impetuosity, force
  • Catalan: ningú — unimportant person
  • Catalan: paio — unimportant person
  • Estonian: suvakas — unimportant person
  • Finnish: tavis — unimportant person
  • French: quidam — unimportant person
  • German: Rando — unimportant person
  • Greek: τυχαίος (tychaíos) — unimportant person
  • Italian: sconosciuto — unimportant person
  • Italian: estraneo — unimportant person
  • Italian: nullità — unimportant person
  • Japanese: 野次馬 (yajiuma) — unimportant person
  • Korean: 듣보잡 (deutbojap) — unimportant person
  • Luxembourgish: zoufälleg — unimportant person
  • Portuguese: joão-ninguém — unimportant person
  • Portuguese: fulano — unimportant person
  • Portuguese: sicrano — unimportant person
  • Portuguese: beltrano — unimportant person
  • Slovak: niktoš — unimportant person
  • Slovak: nula — unimportant person
  • Spanish: fulano — unimportant person
  • Spanish: cualquiera — unimportant person
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