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 almost 200 years, and is 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.
Adverb
the weather looked bad, but they were resolved to go on with their picnic regardless
Recent Examples on the Web
Adverb
But bits of myself ended up making it into the character regardless.—Kazuma Hashimoto, Them, 28 Oct. 2024 Among registered voters who regard Trump as a fascist, 8% support him regardless, the poll found.—Emily Chang, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2024 The ad placement’s surroundings may not be to everyone’s tastes, but the objective of the advertiser has been achieved regardless.—Sergii Denysenko, Forbes, 18 Oct. 2024 The watches on display are an excellent excuse to visit the Horological Society regardless.—David Flett, Robb Report, 16 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for regardless
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.
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