Irregardless: Regardless. (Probably a blend of irrespective and regardless)
Usage Note: Irregardless is a word that many mistakenly believe to be correct usage in formal style, when in fact it is used chiefly in nonstandard speech or casual writing. . . it has met with a blizzard of condemnation for being an improper yoking of irrespective and regardless and for the logical absurdity of combining the negative ir- prefix and -less suffix in a single term. - Dictionary.com
In fact, this word has always driven me crazy. I don’t think anyone should ever use it.
Apparently, a fellow NPR listener agreed when she pointed out that Bill Gates used the word when he was discussing the need for training more American engineers (he did not comment on all of those who are out of jobs after tech downturns). She also pointed out that Microsoft’s own Encarta calls the word an illogical double negative.
The final kicker is that Encarta does agree with me. As such an illogical double negative, Encarta reports, it shouldn’t be used. It should in fact be forgone for the much more appropriate word: REGARDLESS.
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Comment by testanchor526 — October 15, 2005 @ 10:31 pm