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.
Adverb
the weather looked bad, but they were resolved to go on with their picnic regardless
Recent Examples on the Web
Adverb
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 There’s so much filmmaking and storytelling skill on display in the first two films, and plenty of chess pieces remain on the table, so Villeneuve will likely make a film that works (and will certainly be worth seeing regardless).—James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Mar. 2024 American Sniper is also notable for broadening Cooper’s appeal across demographics, regardless (or maybe because) of the controversies surrounding the film’s take on the Iraq War.—Eric Farwell, EW.com, 8 Mar. 2024 Yet Biden won that Jan. 23 primary as a write-in candidate regardless.—Jeongyoon Han, NPR, 6 Mar. 2024 Melancholy and failure are part of the deal, and there is a profound comedy to be had from pressing on regardless.—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024 Even during a closure, at least 1,400 migrants are to be processed each day at ports of entry, ensuring that the flow of asylum seekers continues regardless.—The Editors, National Review, 6 Feb. 2024 The hike would’ve been wonderful regardless, but Rio’s presence added a little extra to the experience.—Nicole Blanchard, Idaho Statesman, 3 Feb. 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.
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