IRREGULAR

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does irregular mean? 

• IRREGULAR (noun)
  The noun IRREGULAR has 2 senses:

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

  Familiarity information: IRREGULAR used as a noun is rare.

• IRREGULAR (adjective)
  The adjective IRREGULAR has 9 senses:

1. contrary to rule or accepted order or general practice

2. not occurring at a regular rate or fixed intervals

3. (used of the military) not belonging to or engaged in by regular army forces

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

5. failing to meet a standard of manufacture due to an imperfection

6. deviating from normal expectations; somewhat odd, strange, or abnormal

7. lacking continuity or regularity

8. (of a surface or shape); not level or flat or symmetrical

9. independent in behavior or thought

  Familiarity information: IRREGULAR used as an adjective is familiar.

 Dictionary entry details 

• IRREGULAR (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

guerilla; guerrilla; insurgent; irregular

Hypernyms ("irregular" is a kind of...):

warrior (someone engaged in or experienced in warfare)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "irregular"):

Maquis; Maquisard (a guerrilla fighter in the French underground in World War II)

urban guerrilla (a guerrilla who fights only in cities and towns)

Holonyms ("irregular" is a member of...):

guerilla force; guerrilla force (an irregular armed force that fights by sabotage and harassment; often rural and organized in large groups)

Sense 2

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

irregular; second

Hypernyms ("irregular" is a kind of...):

merchandise; product; ware (commodities offered for sale)

• IRREGULAR (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Contrary to rule or accepted order or general practice

Context example:

irregular hiring practices

Similar:

asymmetrical; crooked (irregular in shape or outline)

casual; occasional (occurring on a temporary or irregular basis)

improper; unconventional; unlawful (not conforming to legality, moral law, or social convention)

randomised; randomized (set up or distributed in a deliberately random way)

strong (of verbs not having standard (or regular) inflection)

Also:

unsystematic (lacking systematic arrangement or method or organization)

illegal (prohibited by law or by official or accepted rules)

asymmetric; asymmetrical (characterized by asymmetry in the spatial arrangement or placement of parts or components)

unsteady (subject to change or variation)

rough; unsmooth (having or caused by an irregular surface)

unrhythmic; unrhythmical (not rhythmic; irregular in beat or accent)

Attribute:

regularity (the quality of being characterized by a fixed principle or rate)

Antonym:

regular (in accordance with fixed order or procedure or principle)

Derivation:

irregularity (behavior that breaches the rule or etiquette or custom or morality)

irregularity (not characterized by a fixed principle or rate; at irregular intervals)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Not occurring at a regular rate or fixed intervals

Synonyms:

irregular; unpredictable

Context example:

an irregular heartbeat

Similar:

sporadic (recurring in scattered and irregular or unpredictable instances)

Derivation:

irregularity (irregular and infrequent or difficult evacuation of the bowels; can be a symptom of intestinal obstruction or diverticulitis)

Sense 3

Meaning:

(used of the military) not belonging to or engaged in by regular army forces

Context example:

irregular warfare

Also:

partisan; partizan (devoted to a cause or party)

Antonym:

regular ((used of the military) belonging to or engaged in by legitimate army forces)

Sense 4

Meaning:

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

Antonym:

regular ((of solids) having clear dimensions that can be measured; volume can be determined with a suitable geometric formula)

Derivation:

irregularity (an irregular asymmetry in shape; an irregular spatial pattern)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Failing to meet a standard of manufacture due to an imperfection

Context example:

an irregular pair of jeans

Similar:

imperfect (not perfect; defective or inadequate)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Deviating from normal expectations; somewhat odd, strange, or abnormal

Synonyms:

atypical; irregular

Context example:

highly irregular behavior

Similar:

abnormal; unnatural (not normal; not typical or usual or regular or conforming to a norm)

Derivation:

irregularity (behavior that breaches the rule or etiquette or custom or morality)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Lacking continuity or regularity

Synonyms:

irregular; temporary

Context example:

employed on a temporary basis

Similar:

part-time; part time (involving less than the standard or customary time for an activity)

Sense 8

Meaning:

(of a surface or shape); not level or flat or symmetrical

Context example:

walking was difficult on the irregular cobblestoned surface

Similar:

uneven (not even or uniform as e.g. in shape or texture)

Derivation:

irregularity (an irregular asymmetry in shape; an irregular spatial pattern)

Sense 9

Meaning:

Independent in behavior or thought

Synonyms:

irregular; maverick; unorthodox

Context example:

maverick politicians

Similar:

unconventional (not conforming to accepted rules or standards)

Derivation:

irregularity (not characterized by a fixed principle or rate; at irregular intervals)

 Context examples 

Issue associated with any deviation from device document specification relating to the irregular rate at which the device stops.

(Medical Device Stops Intermittently, Food and Drug Administration)

Patients may present with irregular bleeding.

(Chronic Endometritis, NCI Thesaurus)

Frequently, tumor cells are arranged radially about an irregular focus of necrosis.

(Mouse Glioblastoma, NCI Thesaurus/MMHCC)

Involuntary shock-like contractions, irregular in rhythm and amplitude, followed by relaxation, of a muscle or a group of muscles.

(Myoclonic jerk, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

A fullerene-like nanostructure that consists of graphene cylinders and exhibits an irregular horn-like shape.

(Nanohorn, NCI Thesaurus)

A disorder characterized by involuntary and irregular muscle contractions not associated with muscle weakness or atrophy.

(Myokymia, NCI Thesaurus)

It is characterized by brief, non-repetitive irregular muscle contractions.

(Chorea, NCI Thesaurus)

The irregular and largest tarsal bone that forms the heel.

(Calcaneum, NCI Thesaurus)

It presents as a pigmented macular lesion with irregular borders.

(Acral Lentiginous Melanoma, NCI Thesaurus)

Radar images from the flyby indicate that the comet is about 3,000 feet (1 kilometer) in diameter and has an irregular shape: looks like a brick on one side and a pear on the other.

(Comet Flying by Earth Observed with Radar and Infrared, NASA)