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, 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

Prepare to never wear anything but activewear and sneakers again, because Beyoncé is joining forces with Adidas. — Lauren Alexis Fisher, Harper's BAZAAR, "Beyoncé and Adidas Announce New Partnership and the Relaunch of Ivy Park," 4 Apr. 2019 Daphne waited once again to meet her favorite royal pal, and to meet the Duchess of Sussex for the first time. — Lucy Wood, Marie Claire, "Daphne Dunne, Prince Harry's 99-Year-Old Australian BFF, Has Died," 2 Apr. 2019 From there, reassess again and try for another minute. Continue this pattern to build confidence in your abilities and ease yourself into a workout. 9. — Jenny Mccoy, SELF, "13 Mental Strategies to Help You Stick With Your New Exercise Routine," 4 Jan. 2019 For the better part of 200 years, roughly between 1600 and 1800, Amsterdam was one of the greatest entrepôts on the face of the earth, a global megastore to which the spoils of empire were shipped and from which they were sold on again. — Steve King, Condé Nast Traveler, "Why We Keep Going Back to Amsterdam," 24 Dec. 2018 Chance encounters constantly bring Lucy and Jack together and while their chemistry is undeniable, the fear of losing someone again holds Jack back. — Lindsey O'connell, Woman's Day, "Exclusive! Watch a Sneak Peek of Hallmark Channel’s New Movie with Jodie Sweetin from 'Fuller House'," 5 Mar. 2019 Then again, on January 11, the trio met up with their costar Moises Arias (a.k.a. — Victoria Rodriguez, Seventeen, "Most Iconic Disney Channel Reunions of All Time," 12 Feb. 2019 Some may have had a bad experience in the past with nursing—like getting a nipple injury or frequent mastitis—and don’t want to run the risk of going through that again, Dr. Greves says. — Korin Miller, SELF, "Jana Kramer on the Criticism She Received After Deciding Not to Breastfeed: 'It’s Just Frustrating'," 17 Jan. 2019 Roughly four years after Queen Elizabeth II posted her first tweet — which some might remember went down at the Science Museum — Her Majesty has taken to social media again. — Kaleigh Fasanella, Allure, "Queen Elizabeth II, 92, Just Posted Her First-Ever Instagram," 7 Mar. 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.