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

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Synonyms & Antonyms for again

Synonyms

afresh, anew, de novo, 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

Sixteen years after completing a redevelopment of the historic Medinah Temple, Al Friedman is ready to do it again. — Ryan Ori, chicagotribune.com, "Landmark Medinah Temple to be redeveloped — again — by 'mayor of River North'," 14 June 2019 Pull the plunger back again, and move the balloon into the middle of the syringe. — Svenja Lohner, Scientific American, "In and Out: Demonstrating Boyle's Law," 13 June 2019 When the piece closes on July 24, the walls will be whitewashed again for the next exhibition. — Roger Catlin, Smithsonian, "This Performance Art Piece Is Being Served Up with Tasty, Warm Bowls of Curry," 13 June 2019 Avengers: Endgame PG13 It’s time for the superheroes to unite once again and take on the evil Thanos. — Guy Hanford, Ramona Sentinel, "Flickers: ‘Shaft,’ ‘Men in Black International,’ ‘Dead Don’t Die’ open Friday," 13 June 2019 Two days after that operation, doctors amputated the reporter's left leg, again to stem an infection. — AZCentral.com, "Don Bolles loses fight for life: Remembering the reporter with his 1976 obituary," 13 June 2019 Start practicing those dance moves now as Babes Around Denver will once again be hosting its Official Women’s Pride Party at Tracks Denver. — Danika Worthington, The Know, "17 things to do at Denver PrideFest, from drag queen brunch to block parties," 12 June 2019 The video assisted referee, or VAR for short, has done it again. — Musa Okwonga, Quartz Africa, "How to make the case for and against VAR—video assistant referee—in the beautiful game," 10 June 2019 It can be transported around the grid at massively high voltages (and comparatively lower current) and then stepped down at a substation and then stepped down again at the power pole right outside your home. — Popular Mechanics Editors, Popular Mechanics, "How To Live Off the Grid," 10 June 2019

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.