Being most dilatory, I started afresh (8)

I believe the answer is:

tardiest

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'being most dilatory' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are superlative adjectives. Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?

'i started afresh' is the wordplay.
'afresh' indicates anagramming the letters.
'i'+'started'='istarted'
'istarted' anagrammed gives 'TARDIEST'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for tardiest that I've seen is " Striated in latest manner".)

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