Answer Man: What’s the deal with “irregardless?”
By Jason Freeman jfreeman@southtownstar.com February 3, 2012 6:18AM
Jason Freeman is the Answer Man.
Updated: March 4, 2012 8:10AM
Is “irregardless” a word? Yes and no.
It’s a word in the sense that people use it every day, but it’s considered nonstandard.
“Regardless” is the proper term to use when you want to express a lack of regard. Since “regardless” already ends in the negative suffix “less,” there’s no need to add the negative prefix “irr.” It’s a double-negative that implies you are “without without regard.”
But wait, you say — “irregardless” is in the dictionary! It has to be right!
I quote the Grammar Girl at grammar.quickanddirtytips.com, who sums it up best:
“Standard language is defined as the language spoken by educated native speakers, but comprehensive dictionaries also include nonstandard words, dialect, colloquialisms and jargon — words like ain’t, conversate and irregardless.
“It seems pretty common for people to look up a word in a dictionary, and if it’s there, they think it’s fine to use that word in every circumstance. It’s the ‘Look, it’s a word!’ phenomenon.
“But you have to look a little further to see what kind of word it is, and if it’s nonstandard in some way, then use it with caution.”
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