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
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Recent Examples of preliminarily
Jones was preliminarily charged Monday with one count each of reckless driving and resisting law enforcement.
—
Noe Padilla, IndyStar, 20 Oct. 2025
The Enderlin tornado was preliminarily classified as an EF-3 storm, but was recently categorized even higher, as an EF-5.
—Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Oct. 2025
The vehicle’s driver stayed at the scene after the collision and was cooperating with authorities, who said preliminarily neither drugs nor alcohol factored in the crash.
—Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 29 Sep. 2025
Saturday and Sunday are preliminarily expected to hit more seasonable highs in the 70s.
—Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald, 28 Sep. 2025
Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology preliminarily concluded that the pool deck started to collapse more than seven minutes before the building fell to the ground, according to the presentation released ahead of the hearing Tuesday.
—Jared Kofsky, ABC News, 9 Sep. 2025
In the coming weeks, if the settlement is preliminarily approved, authors will be able to search this website to confirm if their works were part of the class action and are therefore eligible for a payout.
—Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 5 Sep. 2025
Two of the dead are preliminarily believed to be among those who opened fire in the crowded Taste of the City Lounge on Franklin Ave.
—Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 17 Aug. 2025
So, the estimates for each month from April 2023 through March 2024 (the latest complete sequence) went through three estimates in the monthly cycle, and were then benchmark-revised twice more – preliminarily in August 2024, and finalized in February 2025.
—George Calhoun, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2025
Noe Padilla, IndyStar, 20 Oct. 2025
The Enderlin tornado was preliminarily classified as an EF-3 storm, but was recently categorized even higher, as an EF-5.
—Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Oct. 2025
The vehicle’s driver stayed at the scene after the collision and was cooperating with authorities, who said preliminarily neither drugs nor alcohol factored in the crash.
—Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 29 Sep. 2025
Saturday and Sunday are preliminarily expected to hit more seasonable highs in the 70s.
—Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald, 28 Sep. 2025
Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology preliminarily concluded that the pool deck started to collapse more than seven minutes before the building fell to the ground, according to the presentation released ahead of the hearing Tuesday.
—Jared Kofsky, ABC News, 9 Sep. 2025
In the coming weeks, if the settlement is preliminarily approved, authors will be able to search this website to confirm if their works were part of the class action and are therefore eligible for a payout.
—Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 5 Sep. 2025
Two of the dead are preliminarily believed to be among those who opened fire in the crowded Taste of the City Lounge on Franklin Ave.
—Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 17 Aug. 2025
So, the estimates for each month from April 2023 through March 2024 (the latest complete sequence) went through three estimates in the monthly cycle, and were then benchmark-revised twice more – preliminarily in August 2024, and finalized in February 2025.
—George Calhoun, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for preliminarily
Adverb
-
Combs has already spent 14 months behind bars after his arrest in September 2024.—
Adam Reiss,
NBC news,
31 Oct. 2025
-
Spanx Shape Original EveryWear Flare Jeans Without any extra discount codes on top, these flattering flare jeans are already 60 percent off.—
Maggie Horton,
PEOPLE,
31 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
The movie’s narrative [spoilers ahead] revolves around the lovely circus aerialist Cleopatra, who romantically pursues little person Hans, a performer in the sideshow.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
30 Oct. 2025
-
The film is set high in the mountains as fall comes to an end and a family prepares for the long winter ahead.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
29 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
This track has more spiral turns than any other track previously created by Andretti.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
31 Oct. 2025
-
Pregnancy is difficult to detect in ancient human remains, and scientists previously believed that the composition of hard tissues was so overwhelmingly inorganic that these proteins would not be preserved or detected, Barlow said.—
Jack Guy,
CNN Money,
31 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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Liberty Hall hired Houlihan to raise the capital for a classic direct that closed earlier this year.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
1 Nov. 2025
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Getty Images Rarely would a head coach whose team conceded seven goals in a home game just over one week earlier be described as being in a good position.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
New York Times,
31 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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Peter Berg, who’s directing the film, will be co-writing the project alongside Sheridan — the two are close friends and have worked together before on the movies Hell or High Water and Wind River.—
Alejandra Gularte,
Vulture,
31 Oct. 2025
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Matthew had run away once before.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
30 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Preliminarily.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/preliminarily. Accessed 2 Nov. 2025.
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