again

adverb

\ə-ˈgen,

-ˈgin, -ˈgān\

Definition of again

1 : in return : back … swore he would pay him again when he was able.— William Shakespeare

2a : another time : once more : anew I shall not look upon his like again.— William Shakespeare

b —used to introduce a statement that repeats and stresses something previously said Again, I ask, why are you doing this?

c —used to ask someone to repeat something that was not heard or understood clearly I'm sorry, what was your name again?

3 : on the other hand He might go, and again he might not.

4 : in addition : besides Again, there is another matter to consider.

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about again

Keep scrolling for more

Synonyms & Antonyms for again

Synonyms

afresh, anew, over

Antonyms

nevermore

Examples of again in a Sentence

Please, come see us again. It was nice to see my friends again. She wants to prove that she can do it again. Things are back to normal again. When we heard the news, we all said, “Oh no! Not again!”. She demonstrated yet again her remarkable artistic talents. It'll just be the same thing all over again. When he stood up, he got so dizzy that he had to sit down again.

Recent Examples on the Web

Shepherd will try to qualify again on Monday of tournament week. — Clifton Brown, Indianapolis Star, "Center Grove's Erica Shepherd looking for repeat junior title, LPGA future," 14 July 2018 As gas prices have spiked, receded, and started climbing again, sales of all Prius models have been up and down as well. — G. Chambers Williams Iii, Houston Chronicle, "COMPACT," 13 July 2018 Jordan once again pulled me aside to talk in style. — Becca Kufrin, PEOPLE.com, "Bachelorette Becca Kufrin on That 'Embarrassing' Group Date — and Falling for One 'Standup Man'," 9 July 2018 The officer who pulled the gun approaches the group again with a baton drawn while another officer continues to arrest Jacob. — NBC News, "El Paso, Texas officer under review after pulling gun on group of children," 9 July 2018 Deutsche Bank and Trump settled out of court in 2009, and the commercial mortgage unit hasn’t done business with Trump again. — Salvador Rizzo, Washington Post, "The thinly-sourced theories about Trump’s loans and Justice Kennedy’s son," 12 July 2018 Beijing, which has denied U.S. accusations of unfair trade policies, has retaliated against previous tariffs with levies on U.S. goods and is expected to do so again. — Michael Collins, USA TODAY, "Senators blast Trump's 'reckless' tariffs, warn of impact on farmers, businesses," 12 July 2018 After taking some time off to heal, Ariana took the stage again back in Manchester for the One Love concert. — Kara Nesvig, Teen Vogue, "Ariana Grande Calls Out Celebrities Who Don't Use Their Voices for Political Activism," 11 July 2018 Today, the warm, decidedly exotic hue popular throughout the 70s is popping up again, and according to experts, its reach has extended far beyond floor tiles, shag carpets and outdoor planters. — Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, "WATCH: The Hottest Color on Pinterest Right Now is Hardly New," 11 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'again.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for again

Middle English ayen, ayein, ayan, ageyn, again "back, in the opposite direction, to a former state, once more, another time," going back to Old English ongeagn, ongeæn, ongēan, ongān, ongegn, ongēn, agēn (Northumbrian ongægn, ongǣn), (compare parallel compounds in Old Saxon angegin "once more, toward," Old High German ingagan, ingegin "in opposition") from on-, a- on entry 1, a- entry 1 + -geagn (going back to Germanic *gagna-, whence Old High German gagan "towards, against," Old Norse gagn- "against, counter, through") or -gegn (going back to Germanic *gagni-, whence Old Saxon & Old High German gegin "against," Old Frisian jēn, Old Norse gegn)

Note: It has been assumed that certain Old English forms, such as ongeagn, reflected an original *gagna-, and others, such as ongegn, an original *gegni-, though the evidence for the latter in Old English is not entirely clear. The rare instances of ongegn could represent "palatal monophthongization" of ongeagn, while ongēn would be a contraction of ongegn—this would leave only reflexes of *gagna- in Old English. Old English ongān (continued in Middle English ayan) apparently represents a monophthongization of ongēan after the crest of the diphthong had shifted forward. Middle English ayen, the most common southern form well into the 14th century, may be the outcome of either ongēan or ongēn. The form ayein would appear to directly continue ongegn. Originally northern again is presumed to have the velar /g/ from Old Norse i gegn. The shortened vowel in the usual pronunciation of again is probably due to against, where it was conditioned by the final consonant cluster. The origin of Germanic *gagna-, *gegni- (Gothic correspondent lacking) is obscure.