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Synonyms

afresh

American  
[uh-fresh] / əˈfrɛʃ /

adverb

  1. anew; once more; again.

    to start afresh.
afresh British  
/ əˈfrɛʃ /

adverb

  1. once more; once again; anew

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of afresh

First recorded in 1500–10; a- 2 + fresh

Explanation

When you do something afresh, you start it again as if it's the first time. You might, for example, start afresh baking a new apple pie after burning the first one. When you see the adverb afresh, it's often following "start" or "begin." Doing something afresh is getting a fresh start, or a complete do-over. Your grandfather might start afresh with his new job as a goat farmer after a lifetime working as an accountant. Or you might start afresh with a classmate you used to argue with, determined to find a way to get along. In both examples, someone is approaching things in a brand new way.

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Vocabulary lists containing afresh

Holler of the Fireflies

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Michael Strain, defending, said she had moved to a close-knit community to start afresh and then developed an illness.

From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026

The emirate, now home to some 240,000 Britons, represented a place to start afresh, far from the rising costs, political upheavals and overbearing class system back home.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 3, 2026

But after being continually drawn back in their campervan, Adam and Lou Bourns decided to leave their life in Brixton and start afresh in Carmarthenshire.

From BBC • Feb. 20, 2026

I think you are right to look at moving to a new home and starting afresh.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 14, 2026

“The idea of its being you!” said I. And then we contemplated one another afresh, and laughed again.

From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.