1
as in abnormal
departing from some accepted standard of what is normal
it was a bank customer's slightly irregular behavior that made people suspicious
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sporadic
lacking in steadiness or regularity of occurrence
irregular mail delivery to the island
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3
as in uneven
not having a level or smooth surface
although the moon looks smooth from here, it actually has a very bumpy and irregular surface
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4
as in informal
not rigidly following established form, custom, or rules
the request is irregular, but I'll allow it
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5
as in changing
not staying constant
irregular gusts of wind
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as in guerilla
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of irregular
Kimi Robinson, USA Today, 11 June 2025
Those who worked volatile schedules, including evening shifts, nighttime hours, or irregular patterns, tend to experience considerably worse health outcomes as the years go by.
—Phil Blair, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 June 2025
Time, 14 Nov. 2019
Pakistani irregulars invaded, India intervened, and the two countries fought to a stalemate.
—Washington Post, 15 Feb. 2019
See All Example Sentences for irregular
Adjective
Per Mayo Clinic, coronary artery disease can sometimes lead to sudden cardiac arrest – or the loss of heart activity because of the irregular rhythm of the heart – as plaque build-up causes arteries to narrow.
—Kimi Robinson, USA Today, 11 June 2025
Those who worked volatile schedules, including evening shifts, nighttime hours, or irregular patterns, tend to experience considerably worse health outcomes as the years go by.
—Phil Blair, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 June 2025
Noun
Turkish troops then began shelling Kurdish towns in Syria, and Turkish forces pushed forward, irregulars executing people in ditches along the road.
—Time, 14 Nov. 2019
Pakistani irregulars invaded, India intervened, and the two countries fought to a stalemate.
—Washington Post, 15 Feb. 2019
See All Example Sentences for irregular
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irregular
Adjective
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Mice studies suggest that activating these receptors may cut off oxygen supply to the retina, promoting the abnormal blood vessel growth that leads to nAMD.—
Claire Bugos,
Verywell Health,
20 June 2025
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Alzheimer’s Disease is characterized by the presence of beta-amyloid, an abnormal substance which form sticky plaques on the brain which may result in death of brain cells.—
Robert Glatter,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2025
Adjective
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Iran needs nuclear energy to meet the demands of its growing population; sporadic blackouts are already commonplace.—
Robin Wright,
New Yorker,
16 June 2025
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It’s sparked protests, vandalism and sporadic clashes with police that prompted President Trump to send military troops to downtown L.A., sparking questions over state rights.—
Libor Jany,
Los Angeles Times,
13 June 2025
Adjective
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Avoid wobbly or uneven fittings to keep everything centered.—
Elizabeth Fogarty,
Better Homes & Gardens,
15 June 2025
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That means Juno’s radio transmissions will experience the Doppler effect, where the wavelength shifts slightly in response to Io’s uneven gravitational field.—
Robin Andrews,
Wired News,
15 June 2025
Adjective
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The partnership was a crash course for them both: an informal academy with a class roster of two.—
Josh Rottenberg,
Los Angeles Times,
25 June 2025
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Chris Jackson/Getty Images At one stage, the king had hoped for a more informal meeting in Scotland, where the royals spend their summer holiday.—
Jack Royston,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 June 2025
Adjective
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The case is one of hundreds in the Medieval Murder Maps database, which uses coroners' rolls to track real cases of unnatural death in 14th-century England—now mapped across cities like London, Oxford, and York.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 June 2025
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With tensions already flaring, a nightmarish encounter with a mysterious, unnatural force threatens to corrupt their lives, their love, and their flesh.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
5 June 2025
Adjective
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But such readings can hardly account for the urgency, and occasional stridency, of le Carré’s post-Cold War novels.—
Rav Grewal-Kök
June 16,
Literary Hub,
16 June 2025
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Because geniuses tend not to specialize in things like picking up after themselves, the human price is often paid by a long-suffering partner-secretary—wifely figures like Véra Nabokov, Sophia Tolstoy, and Alice B. Toklas, or the occasional husband like Leonard Woolf.—
S. C. Cornell,
New Yorker,
16 June 2025
Adjective
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Sandwiched between the ocean and the Oregon Coast Range, U.S. Route 101 traces the state’s entire coastline, with wide beaches and jagged sea stacks on one side of the road and thickets of evergreen forest on the other.—
Chloe Arrojado,
AFAR Media,
17 June 2025
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While icebergs and rocky shorelines dominate the Antarctic coastline that cruise ships navigate, the heart of the continent is another world, one of shimmering blue ice tunnels and crevasses, jagged mountain peaks, and vast moonscapes.—
Chloe Berge,
Outside Online,
17 June 2025
Adjective
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Use generative prompts during ideation to spark unconventional ideas that can act as creative springboards.—
Anusha Nerella,
Forbes.com,
17 June 2025
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Palmeiras have a very attractive style of football, and Porto did some impressive, and in places unconventional, defending.—
Adam Crafton,
New York Times,
15 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Irregular.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irregular. Accessed 28 Jun. 2025.
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