born-again

See also: born again

English

Alternative forms

• born again

Etymology

From the New Testament: "Jesus replied, 'Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born again.'" [John 3:3, Today's New International Version].

Adjective

born-again (not comparable)

1. (Christianity) Having been spiritually changed through faith.
2. (Christianity) Having a renewed commitment to Jesus Christ.

   He proclaimed himself a born-again Christian during a church retreat.

3. (Christianity) Of or pertaining to evangelicalism.

   To many people a born-again philosophy is a fundamentalist philosophy.

4. (by extension) Having a newly won zeal for some activity.

   After not picking up a shovel for twenty years, she finally saw the beauty in flowers and declared herself a born-again gardener.

5. Utter; out-and-out.
   • 2023, Cindy Dees, The Medusa Project:

     Jack Scatalone might have been a born-again bastard during their training, but he was their bastard. And the Special Forces never abandoned one of their own.

Derived terms

• born-again virgin

Related terms

• rebirth
• reborn

Translations

renewed commitment to Jesus Christ

• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 重生 (cung⁴ sang¹)

  Mandarin: 重生 (zh) (chóngshēng)

• Dutch: wedergeboren (nl)
• Faroese: endurføddur
• French: né(e) à nouveau (fr)/de nouveau (fr), rené (fr) (rare)
• German: wiedergeboren (de)
• Greek: γεννηθη ανωθεν (gennithi anothen)
• Italian: rinato (it) m, rinata (it) f
• Latin: natus denuo
• Romanian: născut din nou
• Spanish: renacido (es)
• Swedish: pånyttfödd (sv)

Noun

born-again (plural born-agains)

1. Someone who has been spiritually changed through their (Christian) faith.
2. Someone who has a renewed commitment to Jesus Christ.
3. An evangelical Christian.
4. Anyone with a renewed commitment to any kind of cause or belief.

Further reading

• born again on Wikipedia.Wikipedia