arbitrari

Arbitrari is a Latin deponent verb of the 1st conjugation meaning to think, to judge, to consider, to suppose, or to be of the opinion. The principal parts are arbitror, arbitrārī, arbitrātus sum. As a deponent, arbitrari is passive in form but active in meaning; its tenses and moods use the passive endings.

Etymology traces to arbitrium, meaning judgment or will, linking the verb to the realm of opinion and decision.

Usage is common in philosophical, legal, and rhetorical Latin, where one expresses belief or assessment rather than a physical action. It often appears in simple statements such as Hoc arbitror, “I think this.” It can also govern indirect statements or subordinate clauses through infinitives or quod clauses, reflecting belief about a proposition.

Conjugation (present system, deponent): Present: arbitror, arbitraris, arbitrātur, arbitrāmur, arbitrāminī, arbitrantur. Imperfect: arbitrābar, arbitrārī? (regular deponent endings) arbitrābāris, arbitrābātur, arbitrābāmur, arbitrābāminī, arbitrābantur. Future: arbitābor, arbitāberis, arbitābitur, arbitābimur, arbitābiminī, arbitābuntur. Perfect: arbitrātus sum, arbitrātus es, arbitrātus est, arbitrātī sumus, arbitrātī estis, arbitrātī sunt. Pluperfect: arbitrātus eram, arbitrātus eras, arbitrātus erat, etc. The supine and participial forms include arbitrātus (having thought).

Related terms include arbitrium (judgment, will) and the noun arbitra(l) “opinion.” In context, arbitrari affords the sense of forming or expressing a considered judgment rather than performing a visible action.