regardless

Q: Does 'irregardless' mean the same thing as 'regardless'?

Yes. We define irregardless as "regardless." Many people find irregardless to be a nonsensical word, as the ir - prefix usually functions to indicate negation; however, in this case it appears to function as an intensifier. Similar ir - words, while rare, do exist in English, including irremediless ("remediless"), irresistless ("resistless") and irrelentlessly ("relentlessly").

Q: Is 'irregardless' slang?

We label irregardless as “nonstandard” rather than “slang.” When a word is nonstandard it means it is “not conforming in pronunciation, grammatical construction, idiom, or word choice to the usage generally characteristic of educated native speakers of a language.” Irregardless is a long way from winning general acceptance as a standard English word. For that reason, it is best to use regardless instead.

1 of 2

adverb

re·gard·less ri-ˈgärd-ləs

Synonyms of regardless next

: despite everything

went ahead with their plans regardless

regardless

2 of 2

adjective

: heedless, careless

regardlessly adverb

regardlessness noun

Frequently Asked Questions

Is irregardless a word?

Yes. It may not be a word that you like, or a word that you would use in a term paper, but irregardless certainly is a word. It has been in use for well over 200 years, employed by a large number of people across a wide geographic range and with a consistent meaning. That is why we, and well-nigh every other dictionary of modern English, define this word. Remember that a definition is not an endorsement of a word’s use.

Does irregardless mean the same thing as regardless?

Yes. We define irregardless as "regardless." Many people find irregardless to be a nonsensical word, as the ir- prefix usually functions to indicate negation; however, in this case it appears to function as an intensifier. Similar ir- words, while rare, do exist in English, including irremediless ("remediless"), irresistless ("resistless") and irrelentlessly ("relentlessly").

Is irregardless slang?

We label irregardless as “nonstandard” rather than “slang.” When a word is nonstandard it means it is “not conforming in pronunciation, grammatical construction, idiom, or word choice to the usage generally characteristic of educated native speakers of a language.” Irregardless is a long way from winning general acceptance as a standard English word. For that reason, it is best to use regardless instead.

Examples of regardless in a Sentence

Adverb the weather looked bad, but they were resolved to go on with their picnic regardless

Recent Examples on the Web

Adverb

If no agreement is reached, staff said, the Department of Defense could decide to move forward regardless. —

Salvador Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024 Some photographers are sure to dig the twee styling regardless. —

PCMAG, 11 Apr. 2024 Courtney: It would have been celebratory regardless because the record came out that day at midnight. —

Julyssa Lopez, Rolling Stone, 2 Apr. 2024 No one would call it an ideal daily driver but the Gallardo was an enormous success, regardless, with more than 14,000 built. —

Sean Evans, Robb Report, 2 Apr. 2024 The impracticalities of facilitating voting there are clear, but the optics of going ahead with a national poll regardless would also be deeply troubling to many. —

Andrew Carey, Olga Voitovych, and Svitlana Vlasova, CNN, 31 Mar. 2024 Get The Recipe 21 of 54 Basil Bourbon Orange Smash This citrusy cocktail is oh-so-refreshing regardless the season. —

Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 28 Mar. 2024 Send the police, send in the Guard — many have come to believe that, regardless, the subway is going to be the subway. —

Michael Wilson, New York Times, 17 Mar. 2024 The tradeoff proved more than worth it, and not just because the Oscars ended up wrapping a few minutes ahead of schedule regardless. —

Alison Herman, Variety, 11 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'regardless.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Adverb

1872, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1578, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of regardless was in 1578

See more words from the same year

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Cite this Entry

Style

“Regardless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/regardless. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.

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Kids Definition

regardless

1 of 2 adjective

re·gard·less ri-ˈgärd-ləs

: having or taking no regard : heedless, careless

regardless of what might happen

regardless

2 of 2 adverb

: in spite of everything

Last Updated: 17 Apr 2024 - Updated example sentences

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regardless

adverb

adjective

Frequently Asked Questions

Synonyms

Examples of regardless in a Sentence

Word History

Podcast

Dictionary Entries Near regardless

Cite this Entry

Kids Definition