Example:
Since the murderer didn't know the victim, the detectives assumed the murder was a [...].
This is just an example, though, I'm not looking for a word for that kind of crime. Just a noun that means "something that is randomly chosen".
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1Are you looking for a noun? I would use an adjective (namely random).– phoogCommented Jul 17, 2015 at 10:06
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janoChen, please show the research you do. You are doing your own research, aren't you?– Andrew Leach ♦Commented Jul 17, 2015 at 10:30
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Well, I'm asking for "something that is randomly chosen". I didn't know how to research that. Searching for "random" on Thesaurus would just yield an adjective. Not a "thing".– wycCommented Jul 17, 2015 at 10:47
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@AndyT Oh, I didn't realize. I thought the "something" in the title implied that. Sorry about that.– wycCommented Jul 17, 2015 at 11:53
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In the context of a murder committed by a robber it might be better to say something like "the victim did not appear to be targeted". If the killer set out to kill someone, "the victim was apparently chosen at random".– Hot LicksCommented Jul 17, 2015 at 14:29
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20 Answers
- happenstance (n) A chance happening or event.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/happenstance?s=t
- Fortuitous (adj) Happening or produced by chance; accidental
answered Jul 17, 2015 at 8:37
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4Fortuitous is generally used to describe a measure of (good) fortune, so the context needs to be considered carefully (e.g. it doesn't work in the asker's example).– talrnuCommented Jul 17, 2015 at 15:35
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fortunate necessarily entails good fortune. The primary sense of fortuitous does not. But you do have a point; most people would conflate these two distinct words, and would be loathe to call a murder "fortuitous". Commented Jul 18, 2015 at 8:40
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This should have been the answer awarded. The OP wanted a noun, and happenstance is exactly that, it also expresses an event that is not planned or premeditated. Commented Jul 18, 2015 at 17:18
Something chosen at random can be called arbitrary.
arbitrary (adj.) - Based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system
answered Jul 17, 2015 at 7:56
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2The title was changed. A noun was not specified when I had answered. Commented Jul 17, 2015 at 20:29
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3Then you get a cookie for using the word that the sentence should be rearranged to fit.– MazuraCommented Jul 17, 2015 at 20:55
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I suppose you could use arbitrariness as the noun form, but I think it sounds weird, personally. Commented Jul 17, 2015 at 21:06
I can think of
indiscriminately - In a random manner; unsystematically:
or maybe even a less profound alternative like unselective or aimless, depending on the context
I think indiscriminately might be a better choice than arbitrary, because I believe the latter has a connotation of personal choice based on a mood. I am, however, not too sure about this and might be corrected accordingly.
answered Jul 17, 2015 at 7:59
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2Arbitrary can also be used without any implication of actual volition, as in mathematics (let a be an arbitrarily close to b). Commented Jul 17, 2015 at 8:19
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1Good one. You might also want to mention the adjective form "indiscriminate". Commented Jul 18, 2015 at 8:15
Randomness is the noun form of random, but it doesn't work for usage as "such and such was a randomness".
You can use it in the phrase act of randomness, which may be what you're looking for. Unfortunately I think "of randomness" is essentially just an adjective, and therefore it might not be any better than the many synonyms of random that have been given as answers.
How about:
a chance occurrence
or
a random act
or
a crime of opportunity
a shot in the the dark: a random conjecture
throw of the dice: a risky attempt to do or achieve something
If you want a noun for "something that is randomly chosen", you could use the noun form of chosen - random/arbitrary choice. Or to be precise, in probability, the result of a random experiment is called an outcome.
I think accidental can convey the 'random' aspect you are referring to:
- Happening by chance, unintentionally, or unexpectedly. (ODO)
- the murder was an accident, or accidental.
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3A murder is by definition a deliberate act, not an accident.– phoogCommented Jul 17, 2015 at 10:05
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1@phoog - Outside of war (and war-like scenarios like gang violence) I think you will find that most murders are accidental, in that the killer did not set out with intent to kill someone. Commented Jul 17, 2015 at 14:32
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2@HotLicks in US law, at least, homicide without intent is usually manslaughter. It is my understanding that other jurisdictions similarly have lesser crimes for unintentional killing.– phoogCommented Jul 17, 2015 at 14:36
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1@phoog - The thing is that if you walk into a liquor store and try to hold it up and the clerk resists and you shoot and kill him, it's murder, even if you had no intention of killing anyone when you walked in, and even if the gun did, in fact, go off accidentally in the struggle. Commented Jul 17, 2015 at 14:38
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4Accident suggests lack of control or intelligent design rather than randomness. The asker wants to describe something that is intentionally chosen at random, not something that happened naturally at random.– talrnuCommented Jul 17, 2015 at 15:39
How about caprice:
a sudden, impulsive, and seemingly unmotivated notion or action
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1A caprice isn't the object that is chosen, it is the act. Commented Jul 17, 2015 at 14:56
In the context of murder, a good adjective is senseless. A senseless murder is one that occurred for no particular explanatory reason. For example, if a mugger were to demand someone's wallet and the victim fought back, we could understand why he might shoot the victim. But if he shoots the victim after receiving the wallet just because he can, then that is senseless.
See senseless (meaning c)
: done or happening for no reason ; destitute of, deficient in, or contrary to sense: as
a : unconscious
b : foolish, stupid
c : meaningless
A strong word, generally left to the realm of science : "stochasticity".
Since the murderer didn't know the victim, the detectives assumed the murder was a stochasticity.
- the quality of lacking any predictable order or plan
- Synonyms:haphazardness, noise, randomness
The term stochastic occurs in a wide variety of professional or academic fields to describe events or systems that are unpredictable due to the influence of a random variable. The word "stochastic" comes from the Greek word στόχος (stokhos, "aim"). (wiki)
vagary /vəˈgɛər i, ˈveɪ gə ri/ noun —Dictionary.com
1.an unpredictable or erratic action, occurrence, course, or instance: the vagaries of weather; the vagaries of the economic scene.
Looking up whimsy led me to vagary.
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I think it shares the same Latin root as vagrant, which is what the cops probably thought they were.– MazuraCommented Jul 17, 2015 at 21:32
Items (but not usually people) are sometimes referred to as sundries if they are haphazard, miscellaneous, or otherwise not important enough to refer to by name. As per the Oxford dictionaries:
sundries noun (plural sundries)
Various items not important enough to be mentioned individually: "a drugstore selling magazines, newspapers, and sundries".
sundry adjective
[ATTRIBUTIVE] Of various kinds; several: "prawn and garlic vol-au-vents and sundry other delicacies".
Source: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/sundry
Opportunistic describes crimes committed without a specific target, based on opportunities which arise, rather than being individually planned. In your case this would suggest that to commit murder was the primary goal of the crime, as opposed to a "robbery gone wrong".
In the case of murder, it's not often going to be the case that a murder is "opportunistic" unless the criminal is very depraved indeed. I believe most murders either target a particular individual the murderer have a motive for killing, or are unplanned consequences of other crimes such as burglary or robbery or kidnapping which have "gone wrong".
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1Because opportunistic means taking opportunities, it does not mean doing things at random. Example of a random crime: "I want to rob someone. Eenie meenie minie mo... I pick that guy!". Example of an opportunistic crime: "I'm off down the shops on my bike. Oh, that guy has left his phone on the table, let's nick it and cycle off". In this second example the guy is picked because he left his phone in an accessible place; the thief therefore used logic which is not random.– AndyTCommented Jul 17, 2015 at 11:16
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@AndyT, I don't think you know what random means. dictionary.reference.com/browse/random Random means unpredictable, it does not mean uncaused, and it certainly doesn't require anyone to recite a rhyme or use any "random method of choosing between alternatives". An opportunistic crime will occur randomly because opportunities occur randomly.– BenCommented Jul 17, 2015 at 11:22
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Nice link, exactly what I've been consulting. Let's see what it says: "proceeding, made, or occurring without definite aim, reason, or pattern". Why did the thief steal that guy's phone? Was there a reason? Yes, it was because he left his phone on the table.– AndyTCommented Jul 17, 2015 at 11:39
Is "a blind murder" fitting your need?
2. Lacking perception, awareness, or judgement:
2.1 Not controlled by reason:
they left in blind panic
adj, adv
- in a jumble
n
- a muddle
I admit it's not the perfect word for what you are describing, but it's really fun to say.
Happenstance
something that happens by chance http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/happenstance
or
Coincidence
a situation in which events happen at the same time in a way that is not planned or expected http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coincidence
Freak occurrence (vocabulary.com)
A freak occurrence, on the other hand, is not necessarily a bad thing, but connotes something irregular or unexpected.
answered Jul 17, 2015 at 21:20
How about a lark or a whim?
Lark (as in "on a lark")
- a merry, carefree adventure; frolic; escapade.
- innocent or good-natured mischief; a prank.
- something extremely easy to accomplish, succeed in, or to obtain
an odd or capricious notion or desire; a sudden or freakish fancy
capricious humor
- uncorrelated
- independent
- unrelated
- nonsequitur
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1Hi Steve and welcome to ELU! Please consider adding definitions for each of these words to show why they are an acceptable choice. Commented Jul 18, 2015 at 6:22
one-off
- Police suspect that the murder was a one-off
It could have been someone else, somewhere else. The James Bulger murder was a one-off, and nothing like that will happen again for a long, long time. The Damilola Taylor murder was not. It could happen again next week, next month.
The Guardian
My suggestion doesn't fit neither the OP's title nor the question in the body, a one-off is not random by any stretch of the imagination, and it is not chosen, but it is a noun which expresses a unique, never-to-be-repeated event or thing.
answered Jul 18, 2015 at 6:44
