regardless

adjective

re·gard·less | \ ri-ˈgärd-ləs

Definition of regardless

(Entry 1 of 2)

: heedless, careless

regardless

adverb

Definition of regardless (Entry 2 of 2)

: despite everything went ahead with their plans regardless

Other Words from regardless Synonyms When Should You Use regardless? More Example Sentences Learn More about regardless

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Synonyms for regardless

Synonyms: Adverb

anyhow, anyway, anyways [chiefly dialect], whatever

When Should You Use regardless?

Adverb

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.

Examples of regardless in a Sentence

Adverb

the weather looked bad, but they were resolved to go on with their picnic regardless

Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb

But regardless, the passage of the farm bill has big implications for the burgeoning CBD industry. — Chavie Lieber, Vox, "Hemp is now legal. That’s huge for the CBD industry.," 20 Dec. 2018 Allen, a quality special teams player and the team’s top returning pass catcher from last year, should have a role regardless. — Jeff Zrebiec, baltimoresun.com, "Looking at the Ravens' offensive depth chart ahead of the various offseason minicamps," 8 May 2018 And while this is certainly better than a more explicitly draconian approach, the grey area leaves a lot of room for interpretation that could result in a chilling effect regardless. — Eric Limer, Popular Mechanics, "EU Passes New Copyright Rules That Could Have a Disastrous Effect," 26 Mar. 2019 The calm reaction reflects the fact that while Australia’s politics have long been all over the place, its economy has motored on regardless. — Andrew Peaple, WSJ, "The Biggest Question in Australian Politics: How to Handle China," 24 Aug. 2018 This means that, even if Google takes Chromium in a direction that Microsoft disagrees with or opposes, Microsoft will have little option but to follow along regardless. — Peter Bright, Ars Technica, "Google isn’t the company that we should have handed the Web over to," 17 Dec. 2018 Sure, checking to make sure your smoke detectors are properly functioning is important regardless, but how about purchasing a self-extinguishing coil candle to go with that holiday candle collection? — Taylor Mead, House Beautiful, "Candle By The Hour's Coil Candles Extinguish Themselves," 6 Nov. 2018 Why would Jay-Z need to ask someone to take his pic with Kevin Hart when people constantly take pics of him regardless? — Mehera Bonner, Marie Claire, "This BTS Video of Jay Z Faking a "Candid" Photo Proves He's More Extra Than You'll Ever Be," 5 June 2017 Beaujolais or Cabernet Franc from the Loire Valley are top contenders for me, but lighter, more easygoing fruity reds regardless. — Kristin Tice Studeman, Vogue, "The Best Wine for Every Thanksgiving Scenario," 19 Nov. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'regardless.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.