Is *Irregardless a Word? | Definition & Spelling
Regardless is an adverb meaning ‘despite everything’. It’s often used as a transition word at the start of a sentence to change the topic.
‘Irregardless’ is sometimes used instead of regardless. While ‘irregardless’ may be used in informal contexts, it is considered nonstandard and should be avoided in formal or academic writing.
Standard: I might lose, but I’m going to try regardless.
A Scribbr Grammar Check can help make sure you’re using words like ‘regardless’ correctly in your writing.
Regardless of
Regardless can also be used as part of the prepositional phrase regardless of meaning ‘heedless of’ or ‘careless of’. ‘Irregardless of’ is never correct.
I go running every day, regardless of the weather.
Other interesting language articles
If you want to know more about commonly confused words, definitions, common mistakes, and differences between US and UK spellings, make sure to check out some of our other language articles with explanations, examples, and quizzes.
Confused words
Definitions
US vs. UK spellings
Frequently asked questions
- Is it ‘irregardless’ or ‘regardless’?
-
‘Irregardless’ is often used to mean regardless. However, ‘irregardless’ is considered a nonstandard word, and it should be avoided in formal or academic writing.
‘Irregardless’ is often seen as incorrect because it adds the prefix ‘ir-‘, which usually expresses negation, but actually means the same thing as regardless, not the opposite. While you may hear people say ‘irregardless’, it’s almost never encountered in published writing.
- What is a synonym for ‘regardless’?
-
Some synonyms and near synonyms of regardless include:
- Anyway
- In any case
- Nevertheless
- Nonetheless
Our Paraphrasing Tool can help you find even more synonyms for ‘regardless’.
Cite this Scribbr article
If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.
Ryan, E. (2024, October 08). Is *Irregardless a Word? | Definition & Spelling. Scribbr. Retrieved 9 December 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/common-errors/irregardless-vs-regardless/
