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say it: ir-EG-yuh-lur
irregular is an adjective and noun meaning "contrary to rule or accepted order or general practice". It carries 11 recorded senses.
not occurring at a regular rate or fixed intervals
“an irregular heartbeat”
(used of the military) not belonging to or engaged in by regular army forces
“irregular troops”
“irregular warfare”
(of solids) not having clear dimensions that can be measured; volume must be determined with the principle of liquid displacement
failing to meet a standard of manufacture due to an imperfection
“an irregular pair of jeans”
(of a surface or shape); not level or flat or symmetrical
“walking was difficult on the irregular cobblestoned surface”
independent in behavior or thought
“she led a somewhat irregular private life”
“maverick politicians”
a member of an irregular armed force that fights a stronger force by sabotage and harassment
merchandise that has imperfections; usually sold at a reduced price without the brand name
Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.
Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for irregular come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.