When you act with abandon, you give in to the impulse of the moment and behave in a wild, uncontrolled way.
If you describe a decision, rule, or plan as arbitrary, you think that it was decided without any thought, standard, or system to guide it; therefore, it can seem unfair.
An axiom is a wise saying or widely recognized general truth that is often self-evident; it can also be an established rule or law.
Something that is canonical is accepted as being accurate and authoritative—it possesses all the qualities that a thing of its kind should have.
A cardinal rule or quality is considered to be the most important or basic in a set of rules or qualities.
A codicil is a supplement, usually to a will, that is added after the main part has been written.
If you comport yourself in a particular way, you behave in that way.
Someone who is contumacious is purposely stubborn, contrary, or disobedient.
A decadent person has low moral standards and is more interested in pleasure than serious matters.
If you delineate something, such as an idea or situation or border, you describe it in great detail.
A dictum is a saying that people often repeat because it says something interesting or wise about a subject.
A situation or thing that is discordant does not fit in with other things; therefore, it is disagreeable, strange, or unpleasant.
An edict is an official order or command given by a government or someone in authority.
When you enjoin someone to do something, you order or bid them to do it with authority.
If you eschew something, you deliberately avoid doing it, especially for moral reasons.
A fiat is an official order from a person or group in authority.
If someone is fractious, they are easily upset or annoyed over unimportant things.
To gerrymander a voting district is to change its physical boundaries in order to include more people who vote in a particular way.
If you say something is inequitable, you are saying that it is unjust because it is not equally fair for everyone.
An injunction is a court order that prevents someone from doing something.
An interdict is an official order that prevents someone from doing something.
An irreproachable person is very honest and so morally upright that their behavior cannot be criticized.
Malfeasance is an unlawful act, especially one committed by a trusted public official.
A mandate is an official order or command issued by a government or other authorized body.
A social norm is the standard, model, or rule by which people conduct themselves.
Someone who is obstreperous is noisy, unruly, and difficult to control.
A precept is a rule or principle that teaches correct behavior.
Probity is very moral and honest behavior.
Someone who is profligate is lacking in restraint, which can manifest in carelessly and wastefully using resources, such as energy or money; this kind of person can also act in an immoral way.
Propriety is behaving in a socially acceptable and appropriate way.
When someone proscribes an activity, they prohibit it by establishing a rule against it.
To be punctilious is to pay precise attention to detail.
A punitive action is intended to punish someone.
A recalcitrant animal or person is difficult to control and refuses to obey orders—even after stiff punishment.
Recidivism is someone’s falling back into an undesirable activity—especially crime—after they had temporarily refrained from committing such acts.
If you refrain from doing something, you do not do it—even though you want to.
A rubric is a set of instructions at the beginning of a document, such as an examination or term paper, that is usually printed in a different style so as to highlight its importance.
A scrupulous person takes great care to do everything in an extremely honest, conscientious, and fair manner.
A stricture can also be a severe criticism of what someone has said or done.
A tenet is a belief held by a group, organization, or person.
A touchstone is the standard or best example by which the value or quality of something else is judged.
An action or deed is unconscionable if it is excessively shameful, unfair, or unjust and its effects are more severe than is reasonable or acceptable.
Something that is volatile can change easily and vary widely.
A wanton action deliberately harms someone or damages something for no apparent or good reason.
A writ is an official document that orders a person to do something.
Adj.
statutory
STACH-oo-tohr-ee
Context
Stella knew that the statutory or legal voting age was eighteen, so she’d have to wait another year to vote. She wished the statutory or law-based regulation on voting could change since policies introduced as a result of this year’s election would powerfully affect people her age. Because she felt so strongly, she wrote her government representatives to propose a change to the statutory or constitutional requirement on voting. Even if she didn’t succeed in changing this statutory or official rule, she wanted her voice heard.
Quiz:Try again!
If something is statutory, what is it?
Something statutory, such as the power given to a governor or president, is created, established, and controlled by rules and laws; hence, it has the full force of the law behind it and must be followed.
Statute Story When one goes through law school, one learns the statute story, or the story of legal statutory creation by legislatures throughout history.
Examples
Statutory authority to improve fuel economy has existed for 35 years at the Transportation Department, and it still exists today.
—
Lisa Murkowski, American politician, Senator from Alaska
In sales cases something close to a scientific appraisal of the facts is possible; there are strong mercantile interests favoring certainty, and future litigation can be reduced by strict adherence to carefully prescribed statutory standards.
—
The Atlantic
[H]e advocates something closer to the definition in the Wilderness Act, in which wilderness areas are given statutory protection and are managed to preserve their wild characteristics and other goals decided by society at large.
—
Smithsonian Magazine
The effort picked up steam the next year after the House of Representatives passed what is known as cap-and-trade legislation . . . . The idea was to create a statutory limit, or cap, on the overall amount of a certain type of pollution that could be emitted.
—
The New York Times
A statute or statutory law “stands” by virtue of being legally authorized by a legislature.
Word Theater
Bones A little dinner conversation about statutory laws.
The panel shows a small video clip of either the word in actual use or a scene that represents the meaning of a word. This not only breaks up the monotony of studying words but also provides another avenue to strengthen word meaning. Enjoy!
Word Constellation
Click for an interactive map of this word
Related Words
axiom ·
canonical ·
cardinal ·
codicil ·
comport ·
delineate ·
dictum ·
edict ·
enjoin ·
fiat ·
injunction ·
interdict ·
irreproachable ·
mandate+ ·
norm+ ·
precept ·
probity ·
propriety ·
proscribe ·
punctilious ·
punitive ·
rubric ·
scrupulous ·
stricture ·
tenet ·
touchstone ·
writ ·
abandon ·
arbitrary ·
contumacious ·
decadent ·
discordant ·
eschew ·
fractious ·
gerrymander+ ·
inequitable ·
malfeasance ·
obstreperous ·
profligate ·
recalcitrant ·
recidivism ·
refrain ·
unconscionable ·
volatile ·
wanton ·
Similar sense
Opposite sense
Word Variants
statute
n
→
a law or decree
The section lists important variants and alternate definitions of the headword. Knowing variants will often help you both remember and understand the word. Not all variants are listed - only the ones we think that are important for you to know.
