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irregularly

/ɪˈrɛɡjələrli/
IPA guide

If something happens irregularly, it's uneven or unpredictable. When a worker never knows what day (or week) she'll get a paycheck, she might understandably complain about being paid irregularly.

If your elderly cat seems to be breathing irregularly, taking in uneven gasps of air, you should probably take him to the vet. And if you keep forgetting to eat breakfast, sometimes have lunch at 11:00, and other days wait to devour an enormous meal at 4:00, you are eating irregularly. Irregular things are erratic or random, and the Latin root is irregularis, "not having rules."

Definitions of irregularly
  1. adverb
    in an irregular manner
    “the patient is breathing irregularly
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    antonyms:
    regularly
    in a regular way without variation
  2. adverb
    in an irregular manner
    “her letters arrived irregularly
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    antonyms:
    regularly
    in a regular manner
  3. adverb
    having an irregular form
    irregularly shaped solids”
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    antonyms:
    regularly
    having a regular form
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘irregularly'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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