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The Debate over "Irregardless" -- is it a Word?

posted by Fnord666 on Monday July 13 2020, @11:53AM   Printer-friendly
from the First-to-Fall dept.

An Anonymous Coward writes:

https://www.npr.org/2020/07/06/887540598/the-debate-over-the-word-irregardless-is-it-a-word

All right. Let's settle something here. The word irregardless - is it a word or is it not a word? Well, this is a debate that Merriam-Webster is now weighing in on in a tweet saying that it is, in fact, a word. And that has led to a whole lot of reaction online.

Merriam-Webster has confirmed that "irregardless" is a word in the dictionary, despite concerns from teachers that it is not.

So fellow Soylentils, irregardless of my opinion, what do your think?

See Also:
Is 'Irregardless' a Real Word?
Definition of irregardless

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 1, Offtopic) by VLM on Monday July 13 2020, @12:23PM (3 children)

    by VLM (445) on Monday July 13 2020, @12:23PM (#1020251)

    Merriam-Webster

    They can TRY an authoritarian flex either for or against, but if they have no actual influence or power....

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  • (Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Monday July 13 2020, @01:52PM (2 children)

    by nitehawk214 (1304) on Monday July 13 2020, @01:52PM (#1020298)

    This "confirmation" is a reaction to the public using the word as if it is real, thus making it real.

    --
    "Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh

    • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @01:31AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @01:31AM (#1020901)

      Right, but depending upon where the definition falls in the list of uses and whether it's flagged as informal or not will affect where you're allowed to use it. This is mostly important for people who are writing in a formal register.

      • (Score: 2) by VLM on Tuesday July 14 2020, @12:39PM

        by VLM (445) on Tuesday July 14 2020, @12:39PM (#1021196)

        formal register

        I guess that's the answer I was looking for. If you operate under some weird regulation where you can only use "Merriam-Webster words" to document something, then they are by definition authoritative.

        Outside of highly regulated environments I imagine the reaction is a big "meh"