Irregular

Definition: Irregular

Irregular

Adjective

1. Contrary to rule or accepted order or general practice; "irregular hiring practices".

2. (of solids) not having clear dimensions that can be measured; volume must be determined with the principle of liquid displacement.

3. Not occurring at expected times.

4. Used of the military; not belonging to or engaged in by regular army forces; "irregular troops"; "irregular warfare".

5. Deviating from what is usual or common or to be expected; often somewhat odd or strange; "these days large families are atypical"; "highly irregular behavior".

6. Lacking continuity or regularity; "an irregular worker"; "employed on a temporary basis".

7. Of a surface; not level or flat; "walking was difficult on the irregular cobblestoned surface".

8. Used of independent armed resistance forces; "guerrilla warfare"; "partisan forces".

9. Independent in behavior or thought; "she led a somewhat irregular private life"; "maverick politicians".

Noun

1. A member of an irregular armed force that fights a stronger force by sabotage and harassment.

2. Merchandise that has imperfections; usually sold at a reduced price without the brand name.

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "irregular" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1321. (references)

Food & Agriculture

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Synonyms: Irregular

Combatant

Irregular, guerilla, partisan, condottiere; franctireur, tirailleur, bashi-bazouk; vietminh, vietcong; shining path; contras; huk, hukbalahap.

Disorder

Adjective: disorderly, orderless; out of order, out of place, out of gear; irregular, desultory; anomalous; (unconformable); acephalous, deranged; aimless; disorganized; straggling; unmethodical,

Distortion

Adjective: distorted; Verb: out of shape, irregular, asymmetric, unsymmetric, awry, wry, askew, crooked; not true, not straight; on one side, crump, deformed; harelipped; misshapen, misbegotten; misproportioned, ill proportioned; ill-made; grotesque, monstrous, crooked as a ram's horn; camel backed, hump backed, hunch backed, bunch backed, crook backed; bandy; bandy legged, bow legged; bow kneed, knock kneed; splay footed, club footed; round shouldered; snub nosed; curtailed of one's fair proportions; stumpy; (short); gaunt; (thin); bloated; scalene; simous; taliped, talipedic.

Excitability

Noun: excitability, impetuosity, vehemence; boisterousness; Adjective: turbulence; impatience, intolerance, nonendurance; irritability; (irascibility); itching; (desire); wincing; disquiet, disquietude; restlessness; fidgets, fidgetiness; agitation; (irregular motion).

Irregularity of recurrence

Dj. irregular, uncertain, unpunctual, capricious, desultory, fitful, flickering; rambling, rhapsodical; spasmodic; immethodical, unmethodical, variable.

Multiformity

Adjective: polymorphous, multiform, multifold, multifarious, multigenerous, multiplex; heterogeneous, diversified, dissimilar, various, varied, variform; manifold, many-sided; variegated, motley, mosaic; epicene, indiscriminate, desultory, irregular; mixed, different, assorted, mingled, odd, diverse, divers; all manner of; of every description, of all sorts and kinds; et hoc genus omne; and what not? de omnibus rebus et quibusdam aliis.

Nonuniformity

Adjective: diversified varied, irregular, uneven, rough; multifarious; multiform; of various kinds; all manner of, all sorts of, all kinds of.

Unconformity

Adjective: uncomformable, exceptional; abnormal, abnormous; anomalous, anomalistic; out of order, out of place, out of keeping, out of tune, out of one's element; irregular, arbitrary; teratogenic; lawless, informal, aberrant, stray, wandering, wanton; peculiar, exclusive, unnatural, eccentric, egregious; out of the beaten track, off the beaten track, out of the common, out of the common run; beyond the pale of, out of the pale of; misplaced; funny.

Crosswords: Irregular

Portuguese (atypical, bumpy, catchy, crenelated, disorderly, erratic, fitful, inequable, informal, inordinate, irregular, jagged, jaggy, jerky, joggly, jolty, knockabout, lacerated, lawless, occasional, ragged, rough, rugged, scratchy, snatchy, spotty, unequable, unequal, uneven, wayward), Spanish (aberrant, abnormal, fitful, irregular, uneven).

From where I sat it looked as though you were conjugating some irregular verbs (To Catch a Thief; writing credit: David Dodge; John Michael Hayes)

The asteroid has an irregular shape but we've calculated its length from end to end to be approximately 137 km. (Stargate SG-1; writing credit: Robert C. Cooper; Brad Wright)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

References

• The World Market for Pumice Stone, Emery, and Natural Corundum, Natural Garnet, Crushed Pumice, or Other Natural Abrasives in Crude or Irregular Pieces: A 2004 Global Trade Perspective (reference)

  (more reference examples)

Books

• About 3 Bricks Shy of a Load: A Highly Irregular Lowdown on the Year the Pittsburgh Steelers Were Super but Missed the Bowl (reference)

• Spies, Scouts, and Raiders: Irregular Operations (Time-Life The Civil War) (reference)

  (more book examples)

Theater & Movies

• Irregular People (reference)

  (more DVD examples; more video examples)

Music

• Irregular Guy (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Shown is a PET scan (positron emission tomography) of a 62 year old man with a brain tumor classified as a grade III astrocytoma. The PET scan displays an increased glucose metabolic rate shown by the irregular bright white area in the center of the scan. Credit: Unknown photographer/artist.

This large (7 by 11 mm) macular lesion displays an irregular, scalloped border, which is indistinct in some areas. In addition to hues of tan and brown, several pink areas (arrows) are present. The presence of pink colors in the macular portion of a melanocytic nevus is quite distinctive for dysplastic nevi. Credit: Unknown photographer/artist.

B. anthracis Colony Characteristics: A. 2-5mm overnight at 35 degrees centigrade without carbon dioxide B. Non-hemolytic, non-pigmented, dry ground glass surface, edge irregular with comma projections, “Medusa Head”. Credit: CDC.

Yersinia pestis grows well on most standard laboratory media, after 48-72 hours, grey-white to slightly yellow opaque raised, irregular “fried egg” morphology; alternatively colonies may have a “hammered copper” shiny surface. Credit: CDC.

An illustration depicting a lateral view of a Mansonia mosquito with a blunt abdomen, short palpus, irregular pattern of the mesonotum and broad, bi-colored wing scales. Credit: CDC.

Syphilitic aortitis causes markedly irregular wrinkling of the tunica intima, producing the so-called "tree-bark" effect. Note that there are several arteriosclerotic plaques also present. Credit: CDC.

The elastic fibers of the tunica media are swollen, irregular and fragmented. A fibrous plaque is replacing the elastic fibers in one area; Elastic stain technique; magnification 450X. Credit: CDC.

In this image two gummas are seen in this liver specimen. At the lower periphery, one is seen as a firm, white, somewhat irregular nodule. The other is hemorrhagic and largely necrotic. Credit: CDC.

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has imaged a variety of galaxies with normal, irregular and ... Credit: NASA.

Medium deep survey image of irregular and peculiar galaxies. Credit: NASA.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

When the governor, however intitled, makes not the law, but his will, the rule; and his commands and actions are not directed to the preservation of the properties of his people, but the satisfaction of his own ambition, revenge, covetousness, or any other irregular passion. (Second Treatise of Government)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

She had an undulating, but, oftentimes, a sharp and irregular movement

And look at the stars through the irregular outlines of his fruit trees

On a table near the door were two photographs in frames and between them a long roll of paper bearing an irregular tail of signatures

The shore is irregular enough not to be monotonous

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Health

Arrhythmia--An irregular heartbeat. (references)

Been diagnosed or treated for an irregular heartbeat. (references)

Sudden death--Cardiac arrest caused by an irregular heartbeat. (references)

Business

The Chilean customer is beginning to become aware of "consumer rights", and it is more common that unhappy clients report irregular situations, unsatisfactory service, defective products, and deceptive propaganda to SERNAC, Servicio Nacional del Consumidor (National Consumer Service). (references)

The high number of eligible beneficiaries, irregular government subsidies, poor management and a giant budget deficit have all overwhelmed PAMI's capacity to operate for years and have resulted in the poor financing of current services and inability to repay its service providers (doctors, clinics, labs, etc.). (references)

Civil Liberties

Egypt

Members of the syndicates have reported that Islamists have used irregular electoral techniques, such as physically blocking polling places and limiting or changing the location of polling sites. (references)

Lithuania

Over the last few years, irregular immigration decreased dramatically due to improved border control, stricter laws against human smuggling, and more effective detention and return of migrants to their countries of origin. (references)

Economic History

Algeria

Algeria's weather is irregular from year to year. (references)

Human Rights

Yemen

Enforcement of the law is irregular and in some cases nonexistent, particularly in cases involving security offenses. (references)

Cambodia

In September the Prime Minister ordered the rearrest of an acquitted suspected rapist, on the ground that his release was irregular. (references)

Costa Rica

Irregular enforcement of property rights and duplicate registrations of title have damaged the real property interests of many who believe they hold legitimate title to land. (references)

Political Economy

THAILAND

Customs Procedures: The Thai Customs Department enjoys considerable autonomy and some of its practices appear arbitrary and irregular. (references)

Liberia

There also are numerous irregular security services attached to certain key ministries and parastatal corporations, the responsibilities of which appear to be defined poorly. (references)

Congo

Renewed civil conflict broke out in August 1998 and continued throughout the south until the end of 1999 between forces supporting Sassou, which included Angolan allies, Rwandan Hutu militiamen, and irregular fighters of Chadian and Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) nationality, and southern rebel groups supporting Lissouba, which included Cocoye militiamen operating in the Bouenza, Niari, and Lekoumou regions, and Ninja and Nsiloulou militiamen operating principally in southern Pool region. (references)

Political Rights

Guinea

When the victorious PUP councils could not agree on who should be appointed to leadership positions, President Conte named several mayors himself, in a move that observers criticized widely as unconstitutional and irregular. (references)

Trade

Guatemala

All institutions that perform intermediary functions must be authorized by the Superintendence of Banks, but compliance has been irregular. (references)

Bulgaria

Other major concerns are irregular implementation of Bulgaria's 1997 public procurement law and privatization procedures, and protection of U.S. intellectual property rights. (references)

Travel

Yemen

Water supplies can also be irregular. (references)

Women

Panama

There are credible reports of irregular hiring practices based upon age and "appearance." A 1998 law reiterates protections laid out in the Constitution and prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. (references)

Worker Rights

Uruguay

At the ILO's governing meeting in June, the Association of Bank Employees of Uruguay brought allegations against the government concerning antiunion dismissals, threats of dismissal, and irregular denouncement of a collective agreement. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Expressions using "irregular": irregular air motions ♦ irregular conjugation ♦ irregular entry ♦ irregular heartbeat ♦ irregular motion ♦ irregular outer edge ♦ irregular sea ♦ irregular uppercase letter ♦ irregular verb ♦ irregular verbs ♦ irregular weir ♦ old or irregular conjugation ♦ on an irregular basis. Additional references.

Beginning with "irregular": irregular-looking, irregular-shaped, irregular-sided.

Albanian

i parregullt (abnormal, erratic, inconsistent, incorrect, out), i çrregullt (anomalous, disorderly, erratic, fitful, formless, messy, tumultuary, unkempt, untidy), që nuk bën pjesë në trupat e rregullta. (various references)

Arabic 

‏متفاوت (different, disparate, dissimilar, mixed, uneven), ‏متقطع (broken, casual, choppy, cut off, disconnected, discontinuous, fitful, fretful, intermission, intermittent, interrupted, occasional, remittent, spasmodic, sporadic, torn apart, uneven), ‏مخالف للقواعد, ‏وعر (broken, bumpy, hairy, impassable, jolty, lumpy, malaise, mountainous, precipitous, ragged, rough, rugged, sharp, steep, tight), ‏غير منتظم (patchy, unequal), ‏غير نظامي (casual, infrequent), ‏غير قياسي (atypical), ‏جندي غير نظامي, ‏الشاذ (exceptional), ‏شاذ (aberrant, anomalous, atypical, bastard, bizarre, eccentric, erratic, exotic, extraordinary, extravagant, far fetched, freak, intriguing, monstrous, moonstruck, odd, off beat, outlandish, preternatural, prodigious, queer, rogue, scatty, singular, stupendous, thumping, wild), ‏بضاعة تشوبها شوائب. (various references)

Bulgarian 

разюздан (abandoned, lawless, riotous, unbridled), грапав (coarse, inelegant, jagged, ragged, rough, rugged, uneven), нестандартна стока, нестандартен (off beat), несиметричен (asymmetric, dissymmetrical, lop-sided, oblique, skew), нередовен войник, нередовен (freak, informal, inordinate, occasional, odd), неравен (bumpy, hilly, iron-bound, jolty, jumpy, knobby, lumpy, patchy, ragged, rugged, unequal, uneven), невалиден (inept, invalid, void), ненормален (insane, prodigious), незаконен (false, illegal, illegitimate, illicit, lawless, outlaw, secret, supposititious, undue, unlawful, wrongful), неправилен (abnormal, anomalous, awry, defective, erroneous, false, faulty, improper, incorrect, injudicious, lame, mis-, mistaken, unequal, unfair, untrue, vicious, wrongful), непостоянен (astatic, capricious, casual, changeable, changeful, discontinuous, erratic, fickle, fluctuating, fluid, impermanent, inconstant, liquid, lubricous, mobile, mutable, non-persistent, seesaw, sporadic, streaky, uncertain, unequable, uneven, unreliable, unstable, unsteady, vagarious, variable, variant, volatile, wayward, whimsical, yo-yo), непорядъчен (disorderly), дефектен (defective, imperfect, incomplete, vicious). (various references)

Chinese 

齟 (uneven teeth), 參 (attend, ginseng, join, not uniform, participate, take part in, to counsel, to join, unequal, uneven, varied), 媮 (improper), 儳 (mixed), 不规则 (atactic), 不規則 . (various references)

Czech

protizákonný, nerovnomìrný, nepravidelný (erratic, ragged, unequal, uneven, unsteady). (various references)

Danish

uregelmæssig (abnormal). (various references)

Dutch

onregelmatig (abnormal, deviating, divergent, uneven). (various references)

Farsi 

نامرتب (Disheveled, Sloppy, Slovenly, Unequal, Unkempt, Untidy), غیرمعمولی (Atypical), غیرعادی (Abnormal, Anomalous, Extraordinary, Prodigious, Queer, Unco, Uncommon, Unusual, Unwonted, Utter), خلاف قاعده (Anomaly), بی ترتیب (Anomaly, Desultory), بی رویه . (various references)

Finnish

irrallinen (detached, disconnected, isolated, loose, separate), säännötön (abnormal), muotopuoli (deformed, shapeless), erimuotoisia (differing in shape), epäsäännöllinen, epämukainen (asymmetric, not uniform). (various references)

French

irrégulier. (various references)

German

unregelmäßig (abnormal, anomalous, casual, erratic, fitful, irregularly, sporadic, uneven, unsteady), irregulär, ungeregelt (disordered, disorderly, unadjusted, unorganized, unregulated), ordnungswidrig. (various references)

Greek 

παράτυποσ (against the rules, atypical, unconventional), άτακτοσ (anomalous, fractious, haywire, mischievous, naughty, snatchy, straggly, tough, unruly), ακανόνιστοσ (maladjusted, snatchy), ανώμαλοσ (aberrant, abnormal, anomalous, bumpy, rough, rugged, scraggly, spotty, uneven), ανώμαλος (abnormal, anomalous), ανώμαλο. (various references)

Hebrew 

יוצא �"ופן (eccentric, erratic, exceptional, exotic, extraordinary, maverick, signal, singular, unusual), לא ס�"יר (fitful, sporadic), חרי�' (anomalous, exceptional, outre), בלתי ר�'יל, בלתי � כון (incorrect). (various references)

Hungarian

szabálytalan (abnormal, Anomalistic, anomalous, nonregulation, zygomorphic), rendhagyó (anomalous), rendellenes (abnormal, anomalous, atypical, displacement, perverse), rendszertelen (casual, desultory, inordinate, random, unsystematic). (various references)

Indonesian

tak ditentukan (unspecified), tak beraturan, aneh (abnormal, mysterious, odd, oddly, peculiar, queer, strange, unnatural, unusual). (various references)

Italian

irregolare (anomalous, erratic, fitful, foul, patchy, ragged, rambling, uneven). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

歪 (crooked, distorted, elliptical, oval, warped), イメージ調査 (99.999999999 percent., bad bounce, bad hop, ear protector, ear valve, earmark, earphone, earring, eleven, eleven nines, eraser, eruption, Ile de France, illegal, Illinois, illumination, illumination control, illusion, illustrated map, illustration, illustrator, image change, image survey, in, include, income, income gain, income tax, increment, incremental, incremental business, incubate, incubation, incubator, ink, inn, Iran, Iraq, iridium, irony, Iroquois, irrational, irregular bound, yearbook, year-round fashion), 不規律 (disorganized, slipshod, undisciplined), 不整 , 不定期 (indeterminate, tramp). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

ふきりつ (disorganized, slipshod, undisciplined), ふせい (asymmetry, correction, dishonesty, illegality, impropriety, iniquity, injustice, irregularity, lack of uniformity, nature, negative properties, paternity, revision, transient life, unevenness, unfairness), ふていき (indeterminate, tramp), いびつ (crooked, distorted, elliptical, oval, warped), イレギュラー . (various references)

Korean 

불규칙한 (Atypical). (various references)

Manx

sprangagh (asymmetric, disproportionate, knock-kneed, leggy, non-uniform, shuffling, waddle, waddling), shallidagh (acting, interim, make do, nisi, provisional, provisory, temporary, tentative, transient, transitional), neuchinjagh (indefinite, undecided, variable), meereiltagh (anarchic, anarchical, anarchist, disorderly, lawless, turbulent, turbulent person, ungovernable, ungovernable as country). (various references)

Norwegian

uregelmessig. (various references)

Papiamen

iregular (abnormal). (various references)

Pig Latin

irregularay.(various references)

Portuguese

irregular (atypical, bumpy, catchy, crenelated, disorderly, erratic, fitful, inequable, informal, inordinate, jaggy, jerky, joggly, jolty, knockabout, lacerated, lawless, occasional, ragged, rough, scratchy, snatchy, spotty, unequable, unequal, uneven, wayward). (various references)

Romanian

ilicit (illicit, illicitly, unlawful), neuniform (patchy, rugged), neregulat (broken, disorderly, erratic, fitful, irregularly, odd, patchy, ragged, rugged, scraggy, snatchy, unequal, uneven), nereglementar, nelegitim (base, baseborn, bastard, born on the wrong side of the blanket, illegitimate, misbegotten), dezordonat (dishevelled, disorderly, erratic, ill-regulated, messy, riotous, slipshod, unkempt, untidy), asimetric (asymmetric, asymmetrical, scraggy), învãlmãşit (bewildered, confused). (various references)

Russian 

нерегулярный (inconstant, intermittent, nonrecurring, sporadic). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

neregularan, neredovan, nepravilan (erratic, erroneous, unlawful, wrong). (various references)

Spanish

irregular (aberrant, abnormal, fitful, uneven). (various references)

Swedish

oregelbunden (abnormal, anomalous, erratic, fitful, intermittent, snatchy, unequal, unsteady). (various references)

Thai

ไม่เรียบ, ไม่เป็นระเบียบ (rough), ผิ�"ปกติ (eccentric, morbid), สิ่งที่อยู่นอกเก�"ฑ์. (various references)

Turkish

yamuk (skew, skewed, trapezium, trapezoid, warped), kuralsız (anomalous, not grammatical, solecistic, ungrammatical), düzgün olmayan (non-uniform), düzensiz (chaotic, desultory, disordered, disorderly, disorganized, erratic, excursive, fitful, freehand, haywire, hugger mugger, huggermugger, indigested, inordinate, jerky, nonuniform, non-uniform, out of order, out of square, out of trim, out-of-balance, patchily, patchy, ragged, rambling, snatchy, snuffy, unequal, unkempt, unsteady, untidy), bozuk (addle, bad, broken, broken down, bum, damaged, dead, deranged, dirty, disappointed, dished, disordered, distorted, doric, embroiled, faulty, flyblown, foul, gone, hard set, haywire, heavy, hipshot, imperfect, in bad order, kaput, knackered, off, on the fritz, out of action, out of commission, out of gear, out of order, perverse, putrefacient, putrefactive, putrid, rancid, rotten, stale, touched, unsound, upset, vicious, wrong), başıbozuk, çarpık (agley, askew, awry, cockeyed, crooked, curved, paralysed, skew, warped, wry). (various references)

Ukrainian

тимчасовий працівник, нерівний (anomalous, banky, broken, drunken, humpy, inconstant, inequable, ragged, rough, rugged, splashy, stair-step, tremulant, tremulous, unequal, uneven, unsteady), нерегулярний (casual, non-recurring, occasional, odd, snatchy, spasmodic, uneven), незаконний (base, bastard, illegal, illegitimate, illicit, lawless, undue, unlawful, unwarranted), неправильний (anomalous, awry, bad, barbarous, illegitimate, improper, incorrect, unequal, unfair, unlawful, untrue, wrong, wrongful). (various references)

Welsh

afreolaidd (disorderly). (various references)

aspera, asperam, asperas, asperum, confracta, confractae, confracti, confractis, confracto, confractos, confractum, confractus, enormis. (various references)

baroque. (various references)

Derivations

Words beginning with "irregular": irregularities, irregularity, irregularly, irregulars. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Irregular" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: arugula, irrregular. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

-2 letters: glarier, regular.

-3 letters: arguer, glaire, gluier, irreal, larger, ligure, railer, reguli, rulier, uglier.

-4 letters: agile, airer, argil, argle, argue, ariel, auger, aurei, glair, glare, gluer, grail, gruel, guile, gular, lager, large, liger, luger, lurer, rarer, regal, rerig, rugae, rugal, ruler, rural, uraei, urare, urari, ureal, urger, urial.

-5 letters: ager, ague, aril, earl, egal, gale.

+1 letter: irregulars.

+2 letters: irregularly.

+3 letters: irregularity.

+4 letters: intergranular.

+5 letters: irregularities.