What does "regard" mean?
A steady look, a gaze.
Regard
/ɹɪˈɡɑːd/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A steady look, a gaze.
- Grammar: regard is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: respect, consideration, esteem, abide by.
- Useful contrasts: slight influence, contempt, dishonor.
- Usage evidence: Your essay is admirable in regard to style.
How to use "regard"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "regard" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "regard" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "regard" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "regard" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "regard" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "respect" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "regard", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A steady look, a gaze. countable
"He bathed in the memory of her blondness, of her warm blue regard, and the sentiment permeated his sensibility with tenderness made the more rich because its object was someone long since dead."
- 2 Filter-avoidance spelling of retard. Internet, euphemistic
- 3 a long fixed look wordnet
- 4 One's concern for another; esteem; relation, reference. countable, uncountable
- 5 paying particular notice (as to children or helpless people) wordnet
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 A particular aspect or detail; respect, sense. countable, uncountable
"This attempt will be made with every regard to the difficulty of the undertaking […]"
- 7 (usually preceded by ‘in’) a detail or point wordnet
- 8 The worth or estimation in which something or someone is held. uncountable
"Dolph. For the Dolphin, I stand here for him: what to him from England? Exe. Scorne and defiance, sleight regard, contempt, And any thing that may not mis-become The mightie Sender, doth he prize you at."
- 9 an attitude of admiration or esteem wordnet
- 10 (usually plural) a polite expression of desire for someone's welfare wordnet
- 11 a feeling of friendship and esteem wordnet
- 12 the condition of being honored (esteemed or respected or well regarded) wordnet
Verb
- 1 To look at; to observe. transitive
"She regarded us warily."
- 2 deem to be wordnet
- 3 To consider, look upon (something) in a given way etc. transitive
"I always regarded tabloid journalism as a social evil."
- 4 look at attentively wordnet
- 5 To take notice of, pay attention to. archaic, transitive
"If much you note him / You ſhall offend him, and extend his Paſſion, / Feed, and regard him not."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 connect closely and often incriminatingly wordnet
- 7 To face toward. transitive
"Seated on a peninſula which regardeth the maine land ; ſtrong by nature, and fortified by Art : adorned heretofore with magnificent buildings ; and numbered amongſt the paradiſes of the earth, for temperate aire, and delightfull ſituation."
- 8 To have to do with, to concern. transitive
"That argument does not regard the question."
- 9 To set store by (something), to hold (someone) in esteem; to consider to have value, to respect. obsolete, transitive
"Ther was a Iudge in a certayne cite which feared not god nether regarded man."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Your essay is admirable in regard to style."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "regard"?
Common synonyms include: respect, consideration, esteem, abide by, accommodatingness, accord respect to.
How do you use "regard" in a sentence?
Your essay is admirable in regard to style.
How do you pronounce "regard"?
Pronounced /ɹɪˈɡɑːd/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English regard, regarde, reguard, from Anglo-Norman reguard, from regarder, reguarder. Attested in Middle English starting around the mid 14th century. Piecewise doublet of reward; compare also guard, ward, guardian, and so on.
Etymology 2
From Middle English regarden, from Old French regarder, reguarder. First attested in late Middle English, circa the early 15th century.
Etymology 3
Popularized about 2022 along with regarded.