randomly
randomly — adverb
1. Done or happening by chance, luck, or accident — not chosen, planned, or arrange
Done or happening by chance, luck, or accident — not chosen, planned, or arranged in advance.
The teacher randomly chose five students to answer questions.
randomly chose (verb collocation: selecting by chance)
Aylin closed her eyes and randomly pointed at a name on the list.
Each person in the study was randomly given a real pill or a sugar tablet.
The songs on my music app play randomly, not in any fixed order.
Sade threw the dice randomly and hoped for a high number.
- haphazardly
suggests a lack of care or order rather than pure chance; more critical in tone
- arbitrarily
implies a personal whim or choice rather than objective chance
- by chance
phrase equivalent; more neutral and conversational
- at random
phrase equivalent; often used in the same contexts ('chosen at random')
- deliberately
with a clear intention or plan
- intentionally
done on purpose, not by chance
- systematically
following a method or system, not by chance
文法句型
randomly + verb (modifying an action done without a plan)
verb + randomly (adverb in end position)
用法筆記
Commonly used with verbs of choosing, selecting, assigning, or distributing. Frequently appears in passive constructions, especially in academic or research writing (e.g., 'were randomly assigned').
常見錯誤
2. Happening or done without any clear reason, cause, or purpose — often describing
Happening or done without any clear reason, cause, or purpose — often describing something surprising or strange that is hard to explain.
Felix randomly started laughing in the middle of the serious meeting.
randomly started + gerund (unexpected sudden action)
The refrigerator randomly stopped working even though it was almost new.
A stranger randomly approached Heloisa on the street and asked for a photo.
The baby randomly began to cry even though she had just been fed.
Quinn's computer screen randomly went black during an online class.
- out of the blue
idiomatic; emphasizes the sudden, unexpected nature
- unexpectedly
more neutral; lacks the 'no reason' connotation
- inexplicably
more formal; stresses that no explanation exists
- for no reason
phrase equivalent; more explicit about the lack of cause
- predictably
in a way that is expected or foreseeable
- expectedly
happening as one would anticipate
- understandably
in a way that has a clear reason or explanation
文法句型
randomly + verb of action/change (unexpected event)
randomly + verb (expressing surprising behaviour)
用法筆記
Frequently used in informal speech and everyday storytelling. Often describes sudden equipment failures, unexpected emotional reactions, or surprising social encounters. This sense rarely appears in formal or academic writing.