as in originally
in the beginning
firstly, gather all the ingredients together
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Recent Examples of firstly
Questions about the forward were bound to be asked, firstly because of the flames around him over the summer and also because Pochettino’s comments about Pulisic sitting out the Gold Cup only served to fan them.
—
Phil Hay, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025
This is, firstly, a lot of ground to cover in a project that was ultimately forced to be 82 minutes.
—Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 22 Aug. 2025
Outlining its overall mission, BIFF highlighted three key directions for the festival: firstly, to reaffirm its identity as Asia’s representative film festival, which includes the launch of the competition section.
—Liz Shackleton, Deadline, 30 Apr. 2025
But what the 175 background interviews did was, firstly, reinforced to me that (the band members) were reliable witnesses, certainly of that period of their lives from their childhood forward.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 16 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for firstly
Phil Hay, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025
This is, firstly, a lot of ground to cover in a project that was ultimately forced to be 82 minutes.
—Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 22 Aug. 2025
Outlining its overall mission, BIFF highlighted three key directions for the festival: firstly, to reaffirm its identity as Asia’s representative film festival, which includes the launch of the competition section.
—Liz Shackleton, Deadline, 30 Apr. 2025
But what the 175 background interviews did was, firstly, reinforced to me that (the band members) were reliable witnesses, certainly of that period of their lives from their childhood forward.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 16 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for firstly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for firstly
Adverb
-
His administration has been adamant on reducing inefficiencies, setting up the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) helmed by Tesla CEO Musk, which originally promised to oversee an elimination of $2 trillion in government waste, fraud, and abuse.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
30 Sep. 2025
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Nathan Posner | Anadolu | Getty Images Premium tax credits were established under the Affordable Care Act and were originally available for households with incomes between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level.—
Greg Iacurci,
CNBC,
30 Sep. 2025
Adverb
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They were initially charged with felony rioting, but those charges were dropped at the behest of prosecutors.—
Quinlan Bentley,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
2 Oct. 2025
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Country music artist Morgan Wallen initially denied throwing a chair off the roof of Nashville bar Chief’s in 2024, according to police video footage obtained by The Associated Press.—
Jessica Nicholson,
Billboard,
1 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Firstly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/firstly. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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