regardless

1 of 2

adverb

re·​gard·​less ri-ˈgärd-ləs 

: despite everything

went ahead with their plans regardless

regardless

2 of 2

adjective

: heedless, careless

regardlessly adverb

regardlessness noun

Frequently Asked Questions

Is irregardless a word?

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.

Synonyms

Adverb

• anyhow
• anyway
• anyways [chiefly dialect]
• whatever

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 the district has offered one year of free credit monitoring and identity theft detection service for anyone who wants the service as a precaution regardless. —Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2024

But regardless, progress won’t go far toward resetting a relationship set on divergent courses. —Charlie Campbell, TIME, 25 Apr. 2024

Here’s the law September 27, 2023 5:00 AM Starting in July, landlords cannot charge two or three times the amount of monthly rent as a security deposit, regardless if the unit is furnished or unfurnished. —Brianna Taylor, Sacramento Bee, 23 Apr. 2024

If no agreement is reached, staff said, the Department of Defense could decide to move forward regardless. —Salvador Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024

Some photographers are sure to dig the twee styling regardless. —PCMAG, 11 Apr. 2024

Courtney: It would have been celebratory regardless because the record came out that day at midnight. —Julyssa Lopez, Rolling Stone, 2 Apr. 2024

No one would call it an ideal daily driver but the Gallardo was an enormous success, regardless, with more than 14,000 built. —Sean Evans, Robb Report, 2 Apr. 2024

The impracticalities of facilitating voting there are clear, but the optics of going ahead with a national poll regardless would also be deeply troubling to many. —Andrew Carey, Olga Voitovych, and Svitlana Vlasova, CNN, 31 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Adverb

1872, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1578, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing regardless

• regardless of

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Kids Definition

regardless

1 of 2 adjective

re·​gard·​less ri-ˈgärd-ləs 

: having or taking no regard : heedless, careless

regardless of what might happen

regardless

2 of 2 adverb

: in spite of everything