irregularity
Americannoun
plural
irregularities-
the quality or state of being irregular.
-
something irregular.
-
a breach of rules, customs, etiquette, morality, etc.
-
occasional mild constipation.
noun
-
the state or quality of being irregular
-
something irregular, such as a bump in a smooth surface
-
a breach of a convention or normal procedure
Etymology
Origin of irregularity
1275–1325; Middle English irregularite < Old French < Medieval Latin irrēgulāritās. See ir- 2, regularity ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Still, in our endless chase of machined refinement, I think we’re missing the value of human irregularity.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026
Transactions initially appeared to be completed correctly, but the irregularity was only discovered days later, when the payment platform transferred the actual amount paid to the affected company.
From Barron's • Feb. 18, 2026
She insists she has not committed "the slightest irregularity".
From BBC • Jan. 13, 2026
An irregularity could get Marlowe fired, never mind that the camera also logged hours and hours of labor violations.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 10, 2025
So terrified was I that some irregularity would interfere with enlistment—some unforeseen objection—I perhaps answered with too great an exactitude, too punctilious a range of detail—desperate for approbation.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
