selfish · arbitrary

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 恣 has 10 strokes and the kun-reading ほしいまま. 恣意 (しい) and 恣意的 (しいてき) concern arbitrariness or arbitrary judgment.
• Basic usage: 恣意 names arbitrary personal judgment itself; 恣意的 describes the arbitrary nature of a decision or selection.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Arbitrary judgment and an arbitrary manner
  • 担当者の恣意に左右されない means not being swayed by the person in charge's arbitrary judgment. It explains the reason for establishing evaluation criteria.
  • 恣意的な判断 means an arbitrary decision. 資料の一部だけを恣意的に選んではいけない means that one must not arbitrarily select only part of the material.