diff --git a/cogs/wordfilter/wordfilter.py b/cogs/wordfilter/wordfilter.py
index 6fb001386a5..60f7a6906dc 100644
--- a/cogs/wordfilter/wordfilter.py
+++ b/cogs/wordfilter/wordfilter.py
@@ -85,6 +85,12 @@ async def addFilter(self, ctx, word: str):
         filters = await self.config.guild(ctx.guild).get_attr(KEY_FILTERS)()
 
         if word not in filters:
+            try:
+                re.compile(word, flags=re.IGNORECASE)
+            except re.error as e:
+                await ctx.send(f"`Word Filter:` The word `{word}` is invalid: {e}")
+                return
+
             filters.append(word)
             await self.config.guild(ctx.guild).get_attr(KEY_FILTERS).set(filters)
             await ctx.send(