as in earlier
so as to precede something in order of time
the sick children were examined preliminarily by the nurse to determine if they had a rash
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for preliminarily
Adverb
-
The Trump administration initially promised to be transparent about the Epstein files in the government’s possession, but has faced criticism over the rollout, with Bondi releasing information in February that was already largely public.—
Alison Durkee,
Forbes.com,
12 July 2025 -
There was already water on the floor of Jane’s cabin, but the call is what prompted her to run in her pajamas to her son’s residence.—
Sam Gillette,
People.com,
12 July 2025
Adverb
-
Home Depot stores will open at their regular times on July 4, according to a company spokesperson, and will close early at 8 p.m. local time.—
Gabe Hauari,
USA Today,
5 July 2025
-
Douglas met the press after earlier in the day receiving a surprise award statuette from the festival.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
5 July 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Preliminarily.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/preliminarily. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share