Regardless

[hoangkha]

This sentence is in an exercise
- I protested but she carried on .................. .
a. regard
b. regardful
c. regardless
d. regardlessly
Some people consider C is correct. Some choose D. Others say both C&D are correct.
Could you please explain this?

[5jj]

C means that she ignored my request.
D means that she continued in a regardless fashion, i.e., regardless of all the people around her.

D is unlikely, but it is possible. This is another bad test question.

[emka]

Not a teacher.

I have a related question: is there any difference in meaning between regardless and anyway?

I told her to stop, but she carried on regardless.
I told her to stop, but she carried on anyway.

I think, but I may be wrong, that there is no difference in meaning but in register and grammar.
Anyway, an adverb, seems more colloquial to me and used more often in spoken language.
Regardless, formally a preposition that can also act as an adverb, as it does in the sentence above, might be more elaborate and used more often in written English.
Also, regardless being a preposition allows to further expand the sentence, whereas anyway doesn't:
... regardless of any basic rules for politeness.
... regardless of whether people felt insulted.

An interesting word pair anyway, isn't it?

[hoangkha]

It is strange that REGARDLESSLY isn't in OALD and MACMILLANDICTIONARY but in THEFREEDICTIONARY.
I can't understand why.

[5jj]

It's an uncommon word. COCA has 11,960 examples of 'regardless', and none of 'regardlessly'. Only eight of the many dictionaries at OneLook Dictionary Search list it.

[5jj]

I have a related question: is there any difference in meaning between regardless and anyway?

I told her to stop, but she carried on regardless.......I told her to stop, but she carried on anyway.

I think, but I may be wrong, that there is no difference in meaning but in register and grammar. Anyway, an adverb, seems more colloquial to me and used more often in spoken language. Regardless, formally a preposition that can also act as an adverb, as it does in the sentence above, might be more elaborate and used more often in written English.

I agree with you up to the final sentence. I don't think that 'regardless' is formally a preposition; it functions as an adjective or adverb. The adjective 'regardless' and the preposition 'to', may, together, function prepositionally.

[JohnParis]

Hi
Fivejedjon has it right.
Regardless is an adverb, but "regardless of" is a two-word preposition.