as in originally
in the beginning
firstly, gather all the ingredients together
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Recent Examples of firstly
The resurgence of trends that were popular back in the 1990s came firstly as quite the surprise.
—
Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 30 Oct. 2025
Santo Domingo was wearing two hats at the event, firstly representing the Bird on a Rock collection, for which Nathalie Verdeille, Tiffany’s chief artistic officer of jewelry and high jewelry, reimagined Jean Schlumberger’s iconic design.
—Miles Socha, Footwear News, 3 Oct. 2025
That's firstly true about the size of the drone itself.
—New Atlas, 17 Sep. 2025
Mandelson is no stranger to controversy, and twice resigned from Tony Blair's governments: firstly in 1998 over an undeclared interest-free loan; and 2001 over accusations of using his position to influence a passport decision.
—Barney Henderson, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for firstly
Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 30 Oct. 2025
Santo Domingo was wearing two hats at the event, firstly representing the Bird on a Rock collection, for which Nathalie Verdeille, Tiffany’s chief artistic officer of jewelry and high jewelry, reimagined Jean Schlumberger’s iconic design.
—Miles Socha, Footwear News, 3 Oct. 2025
That's firstly true about the size of the drone itself.
—New Atlas, 17 Sep. 2025
Mandelson is no stranger to controversy, and twice resigned from Tony Blair's governments: firstly in 1998 over an undeclared interest-free loan; and 2001 over accusations of using his position to influence a passport decision.
—Barney Henderson, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for firstly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for firstly
Adverb
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Groceries were originally subject to the full state sales tax.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
16 Feb. 2026
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Shooting stars was a regular feature from 2004 to 2015 and originally featured an NBA player, a WNBA player and a retired player on each team shooting from four locations.—
Steve Galluzzo,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Feb. 2026
Adverb
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Vedam was initially detained on drug charges while police investigated and was eventually charged with Kinser’s murder.—
Elizabeth Wolfe,
CNN Money,
17 Feb. 2026
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The GoFundMe page, set up by Torres Hidalgo's in-home teacher Valerie Wadycki, initially asked for funds to assist with Torres Maldonado's legal fees and to help the family while he was being detained.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
16 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Firstly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/firstly. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
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