initially

adverb

ini·​tial·​ly i-ˈni-sh(ə-)lē 

: at the beginning : at first

The reason I initially came here was to find work.

It turned out that the situation was not as serious as we had initially believed.

Initially, the symptoms are mild.

Synonyms

• firstly
• originally
• primarily

Examples of initially in a Sentence

we initially intended to rebuild our hurricane-damaged home from the ground up

Recent Examples on the Web

Shohei Ohtani pitching this season initially felt like a luxury. —Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 10 May 2025

That bout was initially scheduled for bantamweight but was changed on weigh-in day when Aldo struggled during his weight cut. —Trent Reinsmith, Forbes.com, 10 May 2025

After initially being ruled a save, the goal was counted after a review. —Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 10 May 2025

Duran moved the extra-innings ghost runner Rafaela over to third with a ground out, and then Devers brought Rafaela home with an infield grounder that was initially ruled a single but overturned as a groundout on review. —Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 10 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1628, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for initially

• judicially
• officially
• artificially
• beneficially
• prejudicially
• superficially
• unofficially