irregular
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Without symmetry, regularity.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ihrehgyuhlerSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɪˈɹɛɡjəlɚ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Nonstandard; not conforming to rules or expectations.
Without symmetry, regularity, or uniformity.
grammarof a wordgeometryof a polygon
Not regular; having sides that are not equal or angles that are not equal.
Rough (of a surface).
grammarof a word
Not following the regular or expected patterns of inflection in a given language.
noun
One who does not regularly attend a venue.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Nonstandard; not conforming to rules or expectations.
Used this way, irregular is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use irregular
- “Irregular hiring practices.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
Not conforming to accepted rules or standards.
Not conforming to the normal type.
Not conforming to rule or system.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Behavior that breaches the rule or etiquette or custom or morality.
At an uneven rate.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
In an irregular manner.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
An irregular asymmetry in shape.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: nonstandard
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.