Irregular
adj, noun ·Very common ·Middle school level
Definitions
- 1 A soldier who is not a member of an official military force and who may not use regular army tactics.
- 2 merchandise that has imperfections; usually sold at a reduced price without the brand name wordnet
- 3 One who does not regularly attend a venue.
"There's one neighborhood tavern where the regulars and irregulars go after a hard day to unlax and rewind, throw back a few, and just hang out - you know the one."
- 4 a member of an irregular armed force that fights a stronger force by sabotage and harassment wordnet
- 1 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. [...] ’"
- 2 Rough (of a surface).
- 3 Without symmetry, regularity, or uniformity.
"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."
- 4 Not regular; having sides that are not equal or angles that are not equal.
- 5 Whose faces are not all regular polygons (or are not equally inclined to each other).
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- 6 Not following the regular or expected patterns of inflection in a given language.
""Calves", "cacti", and "children" are irregular plurals."
- 1 not occurring at a regular rate or fixed intervals wordnet
- 2 independent in behavior or thought wordnet
- 3 (of a surface or shape); not level or flat or symmetrical wordnet
- 4 lacking continuity or regularity wordnet
- 5 deviating from normal expectations; somewhat odd, strange, or abnormal wordnet
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- 6 failing to meet a standard of manufacture due to an imperfection wordnet
- 7 contrary to rule or accepted order or general practice wordnet
- 8 (of solids) not having clear dimensions that can be measured; volume must be determined with the principle of liquid displacement wordnet
- 9 (used of the military) not belonging to or engaged in by regular army forces wordnet
Example
More examples"I don't like learning irregular verbs."
Etymology
From Middle English irreguler, from Old French irreguler, from Medieval Latin or Late Latin irrēgulāris, from in- + regularis, equivalent to ir- + regular.
Related phrases
More for "irregular"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.