Revised as of
7 July 2023
I remember a junior high teacher telling me that irregardless is not a word. I also remember being mortified.
It turns out that my teacher was wrong, as irregardless is in the dictionary — and has been since the mid-nineteenth century. BUT, this does not mean it is a word that may be used in formal writing. Kory Stamper, a lexicographer for Merriam-Webster, states that “it’s basically an emphatic use of regardless. So if you’re a native speaker of certain dialects that use irregardless, use it to shut down further conversation on a topic” (Frank).
Several sites have broken irregardless down to its prefix, morpheme, and suffix — ir-, regard, and less. Ir- and -less are negatives, which means one cancels out the other, a double negative (without without regard), which immediately makes irregardless nonstandard English. And better used as dialect (in dialogue) to indicate someone who is not well educated.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| Irregardless | Regardless |
|---|---|
To Not . . .? is courtesy of Quick Meme. |
No Discrimination Poster is in the public domain, via Public Domain Vectors. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Adjective; Adverb | Adjective; Adverb |
| Nonstandard
Adjective: Regardless Irrespective Adverb: |
Adjective: Having or showing no regard
Adverb:
Nevertheless Without paying attention to the present situation
|
| Examples: | |
| Adjective: I don’t think children should be hit, irregardless of what they’ve done wrong. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them. If you start with one small, positive thing and repeat it during the course of your day, you will begin to move into a more positive situation: Positive thoughts, feelings, opportunities, and people will start showing up in your life. With practice, you will find that over time, you will change your outlook and choose to be happy, irregardless of the events around you. Let’s show the industry what great companies can do irregardless of size. Irregardless of the multitude of outward appearances, everything is in order. With practice, you will find that over time, you will change your outlook and choose to be happy, irregardless of the events around you. |
Adjective: “They did what they wanted to do regardless of how it affected their neighbours or their friends” (Ervine). “You expect soldiers of all ranks to understand the need to respect the chain of command, regardless of personal feelings” (Gillespie). “Solon, regardless of his cooling kitchen, stood at the door and watched her” (Brown). |
| Adverb: The allowance is paid irregardless of age or income. They were determined to carry on irregardless. The photographer always says, irregardless of how his subjects are feeling, “Smile!” “I told them that irregardless of what you read in books, they’s some members of the theatrical profession that occasionally visits the place where they sleep” (Lardner). |
Adverb: The allowance is paid regardless of age or income. They were determined to carry on regardless. The photographer always says, regardless of how his subjects are feeling, “Smile!” I must make the decision regardless. “Regardless of party, those who work in government do so because they care about helping their fellow citizens” (Orszag). “Government agencies will be attempting to keep a close eye on them, regardless” (Beauchamp). |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adverb: regardlessly Noun: regardlessness |
|
| History of the Word: | |
| Mid-19th century, probably as a blend of irrespective and regardless. It may have become popularized by its use in a comic radio program of the 1930s. | First recorded in 1585-95, as the combination regard + -less. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan…which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them…and we’ll all benefit!
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Resources for Irregardless versus Regardless
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Apple Dictionary.com
Beauchamp, Scott. “What the U.S. Can Learn from Europe About Dealing with Terrorists.” The Daily Beast, 14 Dec 2014. Web. n.d. <https://www.thedailybeast.com/what-the-us-can-learn-from-europe-about-dealing-with-terrorists?source=dictionary>.
Brown. Alice. Tiverton Tales. Project Gutenberg, <http://www.gutenberg.org/files/9370/9370-h/9370-h.htm>.
Dictionary.com: regardless
Ervine, St John G. The Foolish Lovers. Project Gutenberg.
Frank, Jacqui and Kevin Reilly. “‘Irregardless’ is a Real Word — You’re Just Using It Wrong”. Business Insider. 2017. Web. 19 Nov 2017. <http://www.businessinsider.com/irregardless-real-word-regardless-kory-stamper-education-dictionary-mean-girls-lexicon-merriam-webster-2017-6>. Article.
Gillespie, Nick. “We Need Our Police to Be Better Than This.” The Daily Beast 30 Dec 2014. Web. n.d. <https://www.thedailybeast.com/we-need-our-police-to-be-better-than-this?source=dictionary>. Article.
Lardner, Ring. The Big Town, Kessinger Publishing, 1921. A Word to the Wise, 2013. <https://amzn.to/3EQlvNh&get;. Ebook.
Orszag, Peter and Jim Nussle, “Can the U.S. Government Go Moneyball?” The Daily Beast. 22 Dec 2014. Web. n.d. <https://www.thedailybeast.com/can-the-us-government-go-moneyball?source=dictionary>. Article.
Your Dictionary: irregardless
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Conversation by Monica Arellano-Ongpin is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via VisualHunt.
