![]() Although it has long been thought to have originated in the early 20th century, recent research has shown that irregardless has been used for considerably longer, and may be found as far back as 1795 (and is in regular use throughout the entire 19th century as well).īut death, irregardless of tenderest ties, Resolv’d the good Betty, at length, to bereave. And there is no question that irregardless meets the criteria for inclusion in a dictionary of general English usage. However, if a word is used with regularity by a certain number of people, for a certain length of time, to mean a certain and specific thing, it becomes a word, whether we like it or not. There are few people who would go so far as to argue that it is acceptable for formal discourse (and we label the word nonstandard), but this is not enough for many, who despise the word so much that they feel that dictionaries should refuse to even acknowledge its existence. Passions run high when the word irregardless enters a conversation. If you say "irregardless" or write it, you are basically confirming that you are a moron.” this nonstandard definition above is GARBAGE. Others find that it works just fine.ĭefinition: Nonstandard Form of Regardless Many people, finding that the sound grates upon their ear, argue for more stupid to be used instead. Where does this leave stupider? There is no simple answer. Shakespeare and many other writers of his time frequently would add an - er or an - est to words of three or more syllables such as honourablest. Confused yet?Īdjectives of three or more syllables are almost always modified with more or most today, although this has not always been the case. However, some two-syllable adjectives ending in a consonant can take the - er ending (such as wickeder). Many, but not all, two-syllable adjectives that end with a consonant sound (such as righteous) are modified with more or most. Most two-syllable adjectives that sound like they end with a vowel, such as yellow or tricky, are modified by - er or - est. Most one-syllable adjectives are modified with - er or - est, except for exceptions such as ill. If you find yourself among those who are occasionally beset by doubt in this regard you are not alone, for the rules (if they can rightly be called such) on the matter have long been in flux, and have confused an untold number of people over the years. There is often a great deal of confusion regarding which adjectives in English should be modified by adding an – er or an – est to the end, and which should be modified through the addition of a new word (generally more or most). I was taught that the correct use would be "more stupid". My question was if "stupider" was really a word. While more fun and most fun may still be the more common forms, there is evidence suggesting that a large number of speakers and writers of English are entirely comfortable with tacking an - er or an - est to this little word.įor even more information on "funner" and "funnest" see here: ĭefinition: Slower of Mind, Less Intelligent If, however, we accept that fun is an adjective, it seems reasonable that the comparative and superlative endings of - er and - est would be used. This change was not met with widespread approval, and to this day one may still find considerable numbers of people who insist that fun, no matter how many people might use it as such, is not properly an adjective. In the middle of the 19th century the word shifted, and began to be used as an adjective. In both of these cases the meaning had more to do with cheating or trickery than with enjoyment (to fun someone meant to trick them, and the noun form of fun was an instance of trickery or cheating). We may often use fun as an adjective today (‘I had a fun time’), but when the word first entered the English language at the end of the 17th century it was mostly used as a verb or a noun. I am sad that "funner" and "funnest" are not proper words. For most situations, you can use either word.Definition: More (or Most) Amusing or Enjoyable "Option" is just a tiny bit more formal than "choice". You can use it when you're talking about making a decision: Your town sounds like the town I grew up in. If you want to use a noun instead of an adjective, the phrase is "_ sounds like _": When you use this expression, the word that follows "sounds" should be an adjective ("fun", "complicated", "heavy", "expensive", etc.) When you want to comment on what a person talked about, you can use the phrase "_ sounds _": "Yeah" sounds less formal than "yes." (something) sounds like (something) Yeah, but then it'll be blocking one of the outlets. ![]() You can also say "yeah" when you're going to disagree but you want to make your disagreement sound a little softer. Say this to agree with something that a person said: ![]() ![]() "Yeah" is a more casual way of saying "yes".
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