What does disregarding mean?
"Disregarding" is the present participle of the verb "disregard", meaning to ignore, dismiss, or pay no attention to something — whether through deliberate choice or careless neglect. It appears most frequently at the start of a sentence in a participial phrase, as in "Disregarding the forecast, they sailed anyway", where it signals that an important factor was consciously set aside. It can also serve as a preposition meaning "without considering", though this use is somewhat formal. The word carries a connotation of willful inattention: unlike "overlooking", which can be accidental, disregarding usually implies a decision not to heed. Its root lies in Old French "garder", meaning to guard or watch, so to disregard something is etymologically to decline to keep watch over it. Related forms include the noun and bare verb "disregard".
Present participle of 'disregard': to pay no attention to; to treat as unimportant or unworthy of consideration.
"Disregarding her own fatigue, she worked through the night."
Commonly introduces participial clauses; implies deliberate rather than accidental ignoring.
Without considering or being affected by; notwithstanding.
"He finished the marathon, disregarding his injured ankle."
When you say you're disregarding advice, you're using a word built from French 'garder' — the same root that gives us 'guard': to disregard is literally to fail to guard against a thing.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of disregarding
"Disregarding" derives from the verb "disregard", formed from the prefix "dis-" (expressing negation or reversal) plus "regard", which entered Middle English from Old French "regarder", based on "garder" meaning to guard or watch. The word has been part of English since roughly the late sixteenth or early seventeenth century. It shares its Romance root with words such as "guard", "guardian", and "warden".
Related word forms
How disregarding is actually used
Most often found in participial phrases introducing clauses ('Disregarding X, ...'), which lends it a slightly formal, literary tone. As a preposition, it is less common than synonyms like 'notwithstanding' but fully standard.
Easily confused with disregarding
'Irrespective' means without regard to something and always takes 'of', while 'disregarding' is a verb form or direct preposition that does not need 'of'.