Read along with the three podcasts, or open the full dictionary entry for Born again for the definition, Arabic meaning, synonyms and example sentences.
Narrator: Today's entry is "born-again" — an adjective phrase, pronounced /bɔːn əˈɡɛn/, with the stress on "gen".
Narrator: Born-again means having experienced a profound spiritual renewal, or, casually, a renewed enthusiast.
Narrator: In plain English, this phrase describes deep religious conversion, and separately, a newly converted fan.
Narrator: It combines "born", coming into existence, with "again", repeated, describing a figurative second beginning.
Narrator: "Born-again Christian" describes someone who has undergone a deeply renewed personal faith commitment.
Narrator: It differs from "converted" by intensity — born-again implies a transformative, deeply personal turning point.
Narrator: "Born-again fitness fanatic" casually describes someone newly and enthusiastically devoted to exercise.
Narrator: Religious contexts and casual enthusiasm both frequently reference "born-again", though quite differently.
Narrator: So remember: born-again marks renewed devotion — a spiritual rebirth, or, casually, newfound enthusiasm.
Speaker A: "Born-again fitness fanatic" always sounds like it's borrowing from the religious phrase. Is that casual usage really considered acceptable, or a bit odd?
Speaker B: Genuinely, widely accepted casually! BORN-AGAIN combines "born", existence, with "again", repeated, originally describing deep religious renewal. The casual extension borrows that same sense of dramatic, enthusiastic transformation, applied lightly to hobbies or habits instead.
Speaker A: So the casual version really does borrow that same intensity of transformation, just applied more playfully?
Speaker B: Exactly — that borrowed intensity is precisely why born-again works for both faith and casual enthusiasm!
Speaker A: Example sentences?
Speaker B: "She became a born-again Christian after the retreat"; "he's a born-again runner since turning forty"; "the born-again cyclist rides every weekend now" — religious conversion, casual habit, and enthusiastic hobby.
Speaker A: Common mistakes?
Speaker B: Hyphenated as an adjective before a noun — "born-again believer" — always keep that hyphen in place!
Speaker A: Close relatives?
Speaker B: "Converted" the general cousin, "reborn" the near-identical twin, "devoted" the casual alternative. Born-again keeps its transformative, memorable charm!
Speaker B: Let's use "born-again" in AI prompts — useful for user-retention feature naming and lifecycle-marketing content writing.
Speaker A: So born-again in a prompt could help name a re-engagement feature, or write lifecycle-marketing content for lapsed users?
Speaker B: Right. For a re-engagement campaign, you'd write:
Prompt: Write an email welcoming back a born-again user who returned after months away, celebrating their renewed activity warmly.
Speaker A: Good — what about a badge system rewarding a born-again streak after users return from a long break?
Speaker B: The gamification prompt:
Prompt: Add a born-again badge awarded when a dormant user logs in again after sixty days, encouraging their return.
Speaker A: A fitness app labelling users who resumed exercising after a long pause as born-again members?
Speaker B: The fitness-app prompt:
Prompt: Tag returning users as born-again members after a workout gap, showing an encouraging progress-reset message.
Speaker A: One more?
Speaker B: The analytics prompt:
Prompt: Track born-again users separately from new signups, comparing their retention rate over the following three months.
Speaker A: Born-again always signals renewed commitment worth celebrating warmly.
Speaker B: Exactly — say born-again, and the AI celebrates that warmly.
Born again — meaning in Arabic & definition More B courses GL Dictionary