Meanings
- not comparablePrior to some specified time, either past, present, or future; by this time; previously.
Much of what he said I knew already.
5 more examples
I was surprised that she hadn’t already told me the news.
I still haven't seen that movie. I hope you haven't already seen it either.
Tho, when-as all things ready were aright, / The Damzel was before the Altar ſet, / Being already dead with fearful fright.
1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book VI, Canto IX”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLCslipping then my cloaths off, I crept under the bed-cloaths, where I found the young stripling already nestled, and the touch of his warm flesh rather pleas'd than alarm'd me.
Fanny Hill
1749, [John Cleland], “(Please specify the letter or volume)”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLCIt was already dusk, and the lamps were just being lighted as we paced up and down in front of Briony Lodge, waiting for the coming of its occupant.
1891 June 25, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Adventure I.—A Scandal in Bohemia.”, in Geo[rge] Newnes, editor, The Strand Magazine: An Illustrated Monthly, volume II, London: George Newnes, Limited, […], published July 1891, →OCLC - CanadaUSnot comparableAn intensifier used to emphasize impatience or express exasperation.
Enough already!
3 more examples
I wish they'd finish already, so we can get going.
Be quiet already!
Enough already with the lack of glamour!
1988 June 24, Liz Smith, Toledo Blade, Toledo, Ohio, page P-5 - SingaporeSinglishnot comparableIndicates the completion of an action (whether past or hypothetical), or more generally, perfective aspect.
You frame the picture for me already anot?
Have you framed the picture yet?
1 more example
“Yah, I sign already,” my mother replied.
1999, Alfian Sa'at, Corridor, Singapore: SNP Editions, →OCLC, page 136Synonyms: liao
- SingaporeSinglishnot comparableMarks a change in state, more or less in the same manner as the inchoative aspect.
Overcook already, need to redo.
We’ve overcooked it, we need to redo it.
5 more examples
I don’t think he can take it already.
I don’t think he can take it any more.
Your ice cream is melting already.
Your ice cream is starting to melt.
Your grandmother angry already.
Now your grandmother’s angry.
Cannot wait already, buay tahan already. I hope she doesn’t complain to anyone.
2006, Elangovan, Smegma, →ISBN, page 39Okay lah, okay lah. Maybe I senile already. Like this house.
2009, Jean Tay, Boom, Epigram Books, →ISBN, Act I, scene iiSynonyms: liao
Synonyms & antonyms
adverbIndicates the completion of an action (whether past or hypothetical), or more generally, perfective aspect.
adverbMarks a change in state, more or less in the same manner as the inchoative aspect.
Origin
- Mandarin了
- Yiddishשוין
- Middle Englishalredy“fully; already”
- Englishalready
From Middle English alredy (“fully; already”), equivalent to al- (“all, completely”) + ready. Cognate with West Frisian alreeds (“already”), Dutch alreeds (“already”), Afrikaans alreeds (“already”), Middle Low German alreide, alreids ("already"; whence modern German Low German alreeds (“already”)), Danish allerede (“already”), Swedish allaredan (“already”), Norwegian Nynorsk allereie (“already”). More at all, ready. The use as an intensifier in American English is a semantic loan from Yiddish שוין (shoyn), attested from 1903. In Singapore English, the use of already as a marker of action completion and change of state is analogous to Hokkien 了 (liáu), Teochew 了 (liao²) and Mandarin 了 (le). Compare Malay (su)dah and Cantonese 咗 (zo²), 喇 (laa³).
More words from Middle English, Yiddish, Mandarin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἤδη
- ἤδη (ḗdē)prior to some time
Arabic قَد, مِنْ قَبْلُ
- قَد (qad)prior to some time
- مِنْ قَبْلُ (min qablu)prior to some time
- سَلَفًا (salafan)prior to some time
- لقدso soon
Basque dagoeneko, jadanik
- dagoenekoprior to some time
- jadanikprior to some time
Bengali ইতোমধ্যে
- ইতোমধ্যে (itōmoddhe)prior to some time
Bulgarian ве́че
- ве́че (véče)prior to some time
Catalan ja, ja
- japrior to some time
- jaso soon
- jaintensifier used to emphasize impatience or express exasperation
Chinese Cantonese 已經 /已经
- 已經 /已经 (ji⁵ ging¹)prior to some time
Chinese Mandarin 已經 /已经, 已经
- 已經 /已经 (yǐjīng)prior to some time
- 已经 (yǐjing)prior to some time
- 已 (yǐ)prior to some time
- 都 (dōu)prior to some time
- 早已 (zǎoyǐ)prior to some time
Czech už, již
- užprior to some time
- jižprior to some time
Danish allerede
- alleredeprior to some time
Dutch al, reeds
- alprior to some time
- reedsprior to some time
- alreedsprior to some time
- also soon
- nu also soon
Esperanto jam
- jamprior to some time
Estonian juba
- jubaprior to some time
Finnish jo, valmiiksi
- joprior to some time
- valmiiksiprior to some time
- joso soon
- jointensifier used to emphasize impatience or express exasperation
French déjà, déjà
- déjàprior to some time
- déjàso soon
- à la finintensifier used to emphasize impatience or express exasperation
- enfinintensifier used to emphasize impatience or express exasperation
German bereits, schon
- bereitsprior to some time
- schonprior to some time
- schonso soon
- schonintensifier used to emphasize impatience or express exasperation
- endlichintensifier used to emphasize impatience or express exasperation
Greek ήδη, κιόλας
- ήδη (ídi)prior to some time
- κιόλας (kiólas)so soon
- ήδη (ídi)so soon
- επιτέλους (epitélous)intensifier used to emphasize impatience or express exasperation
- πιά (piá)intensifier used to emphasize impatience or express exasperation
Hebrew כְּבָר, כְּבָר
- כְּבָר (k'var)prior to some time
- כְּבָר (kvár)intensifier used to emphasize impatience or express exasperation
Hindi पहले ही, पहले से
- पहले ही (pahle hī)prior to some time
- पहले से (pahle se)prior to some time
Hungarian már, már
- márprior to some time
- márso soon
- márintensifier used to emphasize impatience or express exasperation
Icelandic þegar
- þegarprior to some time
Indonesian sudah
- sudahprior to some time
Irish cheana
- cheanaprior to some time
Italian già, già
- giàprior to some time
- giàso soon
- di giàso soon
- una buona voltaintensifier used to emphasize impatience or express exasperation
Japanese 既に, もう
- 既に (súde ni)prior to some time
- もう (mō)prior to some time
- もはや (mohaya)prior to some time
- とっくに (tokku ni)prior to some time
- こんなに早く (konnani hayaku)so soon
- もう (mō)intensifier used to emphasize impatience or express exasperation
Korean 벌써
- 벌써 (beolsseo)prior to some time
Latin iam
- iamprior to some time
Latvian jau
- jauprior to some time
Lithuanian jau
- jauprior to some time
Malay sudah
- sudahprior to some time
Norwegian allerede
- alleredeprior to some time
Persian قبلاً, اینک
- قبلاً (qablan)prior to some time
- اینک (inak)prior to some time
- به این زودی (be in zudi)so soon
- دیگه (dige)intensifier used to emphasize impatience or express exasperation
- دیگر (digar)intensifier used to emphasize impatience or express exasperation
Polish już
- jużprior to some time
Portuguese já, já
- jáprior to some time
- jáso soon
- de uma vezintensifier used to emphasize impatience or express exasperation
Romanian deja, odată
- dejaprior to some time
- odatăintensifier used to emphasize impatience or express exasperation
Russian уже́, ра́ньше
- уже́ (užé)prior to some time
- ра́ньше (ránʹše)prior to some time
- ра́нее (ráneje)prior to some time
- уже (uže)so soon
Scottish Gaelic cheana, mu thràth
- cheanaprior to some time
- mu thràthprior to some time
- mar thàprior to some time
Slovak už, už
- užprior to some time
- užso soon
- okamžiteintensifier used to emphasize impatience or express exasperation
- hneďintensifier used to emphasize impatience or express exasperation
- užintensifier used to emphasize impatience or express exasperation
Spanish ya, ya
- yaprior to some time
- yaso soon
- yaintensifier used to emphasize impatience or express exasperation
Swedish redan, allaredan
- redanprior to some time
- allaredanprior to some time
Tagalog na
- naintensifier used to emphasize impatience or express exasperation
Thai แล้ว
- แล้ว (lɛ́ɛo)prior to some time
Turkish zaten, çoktan
- zatenprior to some time
- çoktanprior to some time
- artıkintensifier used to emphasize impatience or express exasperation
Ukrainian уже́, вже́
- уже́ (užé)prior to some time
- вже́ (vžé)prior to some time
- раніше (raniše)prior to some time
Vietnamese rồi, đã
- rồiprior to some time
- đãprior to some time
- rồiintensifier used to emphasize impatience or express exasperation
Welsh eisoes
- eisoesprior to some time
Yiddish שוין, שוין
- שוין (shoyn)prior to some time
- שוין (shoyn)intensifier used to emphasize impatience or express exasperation
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with already
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
already. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/already
“already.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/already. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “already,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/already.
Source: already on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.