Irregardless

Lookup for "irregardless" spiked on February 1, 2012. A much-forwarded list of "Top 10 Grammar Peeves" included the warning, "Irregardless is not a word," which inspired many people to look it up. As they discovered, it is a word -- although not one worth using. Irregardless probably emerged as a confused blend of the synonyms irrespective and regardless. It does appear in print, but is more often used in speech, and its entry in the dictionary contains the following advice: "Use regardless instead." Irregardless is one of my pet peeves.