irregular en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ɪˈɹeɡ.jə.lə/ (Australia)
- /ɪˈɹɛɡ.jʊ.lə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- (Southern-England) audio
- (US) audio
- /ɪˈɹɛɡ.jə.lɚ/ (General-American)
Etymology
From Middle English irreguler, from Old French irreguler, from Medieval Latin or Late Latin irrēgulāris, from in- + regularis, equivalent to ir- + regular.
Meanings
-
Nonstandard; not conforming to rules or expectations.
‘ “It would be most irregular Grandpa!” says Miss Cecily frowning and tapping her foot. “Well, we’re a pretty irregular family so that’s neither here nor there,” says the old man, impish like. [...] ’
1967, Barbara Sleigh, Jessamy, Sevenoaks, Kent: Bloomsbury, published 1993, →ISBN, page 33:
- Of a surface, rough.
-
Without symmetry, regularity, or uniformity.
Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits. ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found.
2013 July 19, Ian Sample, “Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 34:The improvements will be most keenly felt across Lincolnshire, where current irregular service patterns are more a function of operational convenience than passenger demand.
2019 October, Tony Miles, Philip Sherratt, “EMR kicks off new era”, in Modern Railways, page 58:Many of these classic methods are still used, with some modern improvements. For example, with the aid of special microphones and automated sound detection software, ornithologists recently reported […] that pine siskins (Spinus pinus) undergo an irregular, nomadic type of nocturnal migration.
2013 January 1, Paul Bartel, Ashli Moore, “Avian Migration: The Ultimate Red-Eye Flight”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 1, pages 47–48:Near by, where the crystal clear River Llugwy is crossed by a bridge, stands a small and ancient church built of massive, irregular boulders.
1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 100:The hovel stood in the centre of what had once been a vegetable garden, but was now a patch of rank weeds. Surrounding this, almost like a zareba, was an irregular ring of gorse and brambles, an unclaimed vestige of the original common.
1944, Miles Burton, chapter 5, in The Three Corpse Trick:
- Of a polygon, not regular; having sides that are not equal or angles that are not equal.
- Of a polyhedron, whose faces are not all regular polygons (or are not equally inclined to each other).
-
Of a word, not following the regular or expected patterns of inflection in a given language.
I hate learning all the irregular conjugations in French.
"To buy" is an irregular English verb: its past simple and past participle tense is "bought".
"Calves", "cacti", and "children" are irregular plurals.
- Having abnormal bowel movements at inconsistent intervals.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more irregular | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most irregular | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Antonyms
Deriveds
regioirregular · irregularly · irregularist · irregular prism · irregular verb · irregularization · irregularity · irregular prime · irregularize · irregular warfare · stereoirregular · on an irregular basis · irregularness · nonirregular · irregular galaxy
Synonyms
singular · heteroclite (not following the regular patterns of inflection) · abnormal · unsteady · coarse (rough) · unstable (without uniformity) · salebrous
Translations (113)
hy անկանոն (in grammar, applied to words) · it irregolare (non-standard) · cmn 無常 /无常 (non-standard) · nn uregelrett (lacking uniformity) · fi säännötön (non-standard) · hu rendszertelen (lacking uniformity) · hy անկանոն (lacking uniformity) · pt assimétrico (lacking uniformity) · ca irregular (non-standard) · el ανώμαλος (in grammar, applied to words) · es irregular (lacking uniformity) · nl onregelmatig (non-standard) · hy անկանոն (non-standard) · cs nepravidelný (in grammar, applied to words) · nn uregelrett (in grammar, applied to words) · de unregelmäßig (non-standard) · la anomalus (in grammar, applied to words) · nb uregelmessig (lacking uniformity) · mi tōroherohe (lacking uniformity) · mi karawhiti (lacking uniformity) · es irregular (in grammar, applied to words) · mi whakarangirua (lacking uniformity) · grc ἀνώμαλος (in grammar, applied to words) · cmn 不規則 /不规则 (in grammar, applied to words) · eo neregulara (non-standard) · la irrēgulāris (non-standard) · be нестанда́ртны (non-standard) · ja 不規則な (in grammar, applied to words) · pl nieregularny (non-standard) · ro iregular (non-standard) · ja 変則的な (non-standard) · de unregelmäßig (in grammar, applied to words) · pl nieregularny (in grammar, applied to words) · fi säännötön (in grammar, applied to words) · fi epäsäännöllinen (in grammar, applied to words) · be няпра́вільны (non-standard) · ja 不同の (lacking uniformity) · es arrítmico (lacking uniformity) · nb uregelrett (in grammar, applied to words) · be няпра́вільны (in grammar, applied to words) · ar شَاذّ (in grammar, applied to words) · nn uregelmessig (lacking uniformity) · mi kōhikohiko (lacking uniformity) · sh не̏правӣлан (in grammar, applied to words) · hi अनियमित (lacking uniformity) · da uregelmæssig (in grammar, applied to words) · nrf irrédgulyi (non-standard) · nb uregelrett (lacking uniformity) · pt irregular (non-standard) · ro neregulat (non-standard) · ru нестанда́ртный (non-standard) · bg неравноме́рен (lacking uniformity) · el ασύμμετρος (lacking uniformity) · ja 不規則な (non-standard) · es irregular (non-standard) · bg непра́вилен (in grammar, applied to words) · ru неравноме́рный (lacking uniformity) · io neregulala (non-standard) · pt desigual (lacking uniformity) · mk неправилен (in grammar, applied to words) · pt irregular (lacking uniformity) · is óreglulegur (in grammar, applied to words) · mi tipirori (lacking uniformity) · it irregolare (in grammar, applied to words) · mi kōiheihe (lacking uniformity) · ro neregulat (in grammar, applied to words) · la inconditus (non-standard) · nb irregulær (non-standard) · uk непра́вильний (in grammar, applied to words) · mi hikuwaru (non-standard) · fr irrégulier (non-standard) · nl onregelmatig (in grammar, applied to words) · fi epäsäännöllinen (non-standard) · ru непра́вильный (non-standard) · mi hikuwaru (lacking uniformity) · hu rendhagyó (in grammar, applied to words) · nn irregulær (non-standard) · de irregulär (non-standard) · sh nȅpravīlan (in grammar, applied to words) · ota قاعدهسز (non-standard) · ga neamhrialta (non-standard) · uk непра́вильний (non-standard) · ro nereglementar (non-standard) · hi अमानक (non-standard) · sl nepravilen (in grammar, applied to words) · ko 불규칙하다 (in grammar, applied to words) · sv oregelbunden (in grammar, applied to words) · la ēnormis (non-standard) · bg нередо́вен (non-standard) · bg непра́вилен (non-standard) · tr düzensiz (in grammar, applied to words) · mi whakahipahipa (lacking uniformity) · fr irrégulier (in grammar, applied to words) · mi kōngunungunu (lacking uniformity) · ru непра́вильный (in grammar, applied to words) · nrf irrédgulyi (in grammar, applied to words) · el ακανόνιστος (non-standard) · fr irrégulier (lacking uniformity) · uk нестанда́ртний (non-standard) · ga neamhrialta (in grammar, applied to words) · hi अनियमित (non-standard) · pdt onbestendich (non-standard) · grc ἀνώμαλος (non-standard) · mi tipitaha (lacking uniformity) · ja 不揃いの (lacking uniformity) · sv oregelbunden (non-standard) · mi tipihori (lacking uniformity) · pt irregular (in grammar, applied to words) · sk nepravidelný (in grammar, applied to words) · ga mírialta (in grammar, applied to words) · ar غَيْر مُنْتَظِم (in grammar, applied to words) · ca irregular (in grammar, applied to words) · nb uregelmessig (in grammar, applied to words)