Word of the Day

adverb

The weather forecast called for wind and rain, but Susan decided to continue with her plans regardless.

"Regardless of how much money the park has, and regardless of how efficiently that money is spent, there are practical constraints on the pace of design, approvals and construction -- a reality every public works endeavor faces." -- From an article by Jeff Overley in The Orange County Register (California), October 13, 2011

"Regardless" is rather simply derived from the noun "regard" (meaning "attention" or "concern") plus "-less" -- nothing too shocking about that. But poor "regardless" became embroiled in a usage scandal through no fault of its own when people began using "irregardless" as its synonym (probably blending "irrespective" and "regardless"). "Irregardless" originated in dialectal American speech in the early 20th century, and usage commentators have been decrying it since the 1920s, often declaring "there is no such word." "Irregardless" does exist, of course, but it tends to be used primarily in speech and it is still considered nonstandard. "Regardless" is greatly preferred.

Test Your Memory: What word completes this sentence from a recent Word of the Day piece: "Mr. Watson planned to visit the __________ during the week to find some new shirts for his wardrobe."? The answer is ...

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