| 释义 |
born-again, a. orig. U.S.
Also born again.
[f. born pple. + again adv., after John iii. 3: see born pple. A. 2 b.]
a. Of, pertaining to, or characterized by (an experience of) new birth in Christ or spiritual renewal; of a Christian: placing special emphasis on this experience as a basis for all one's actions, evangelical.
1961Church & People Nov.–Dec. 185 (Lancaster– Oslo/Bergen corpus) Each was a born-again Christian. 1962Ibid. Mar.–Apr. 64 A visiting preacher asked one of our congregation the other day, ‘Are you born again?’ — and got the answer, ‘Not yet, — but I'm coming that way!’ 1970Redemption Tidings 15 Jan. 12/7 Testifying to a born again experience, each declared that ‘now they must seek the Lord to lead them’. 1976National Observer (U.S.) 10 July 5/1 Strauss is insulting everybody in sight, with the possible exception of born-again Jimmy Carter of Georgia, who may be our next President. 1976Time 27 Sept. 94/2 As a born-again Christian, Alabama State Auditor Bettye Frink prayed hard as she tried to decide whether it was fair to her family for her to pursue politics. 1977National Observer (U.S.) 15 Jan. 12/2 Thirteen years ago, the Gallup Poll found only 20 per cent of Americans had undergone the ‘born again’ experience. 1977Time 26 Dec. 41/1 Encouraged by the presence of a born-again Southern Baptist in the White House,..the far-flung residents of the new Bible Belt are loosely lumped together under the name Evangelicals. 1981Times 14 Sept. 16/6 The ‘born again’ fundamentalist ‘moral majority’ movement in the United States..is closely tied in with the charismatic movement in that country. 1984E. Fairweather Only Rivers Run Free vi. 319 It's different for Protestant women, we're not so hooked on the church, except for those born-again Christians.
b. fig. Regenerate, revitalized; characterized by the extreme enthusiasm of the newly converted or re-converted.
1977Time 19 Dec. 56/2 On their way to gourmandise, a curious thing has happened to born-again American cooks: they have rediscovered the glorious raw ingredients and inimitable provincial dishes of their own country. 1980Psychology Today Aug. 45 (heading) China's born-again psychology. 1981Times 27 Jan. 12/7 One of the Bill's most outspoken critics, the born-again Labour Party which has decided..to end the consensus that once existed on this issue, also says the Bill is sexist. 1982Observer 2 May 7/4 Nott has never been a true, born-again monetarist. 1985J. Raban Foreign Land iv. 57 They're a bit born-again about smoking now. 1985Listener 18 Apr. 25/1 The former sinner..had become a born-again Muslim.
Senses a, b in Dict. become 1 and 2. Add: 3. Of objects: renovated, restored; ‘new-look’.
1977Washington Post 9 Apr. b2/6 The Old Post Office restoration will be a towering beginning for a born-again Pennsylvania Avenue. 1978J. Gross (title) The 30-day way to a born-again body. 1986Sunday Mail Mag. (Brisbane) 27 Apr. 26/1 It has taken the Americans and the Swedes to turn Australians on to the latest home-improvement craze—‘born again’ wardrobes and storage cupboards. 1991Business July (front cover), Born-again Berlin..Europe's new business capital.
4. More loosely: that has undergone a renewal of any kind; revitalized, transformed; given another opportunity to be (some specified kind of person).
1977Washington Post 1 Jan. c3/5 Encouraging com[e]backs included Speedy Alka-Seltzer's resurrection..and a born-again Mister Peanut, whose daffily dancing reappearance can surely be linked to recent political history. 1980Chicago Tribune 20 July vi. 1 The ‘born-again’ comic [sc. Rodney Dangerfield] gets respect from a new, young audience. 1986Los Angeles Times 31 Aug. (Calendar) 75/2 In early May, he performed as Joe Clay for the first time in almost three decades... And when the year's unlikeliest born-again rocker finished his second encore, the chant started. 1988Pilot Nov. 26/1 In March 1987 I was a born-again student, having got my PPL in 1954.., then having to let the licence go at the end of 1956 when marriage came along. 1990Sounds 28 July 26/2 If it's not banal rhetoric celebrating born-again rockers it's eulogies to bands like U2 who're capitalising on the trend by paying homage to false idols. |