"regardless of" vs "in spite of"

[Vaok]

regardless of=in spite of?

Do they have the same meaning?

[Mister Micawber]

.
No doubt there are places where we use one or the other, but they are essentially synonymous.
,
_________________
Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's

[Jamie (K)]

You'll hear some people say "irregardless", but that's considered wrong, because it's excessively over-redundant.