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.
Examples of initially in a Sentence
we initially intended to rebuild our hurricane-damaged home from the ground up
Recent Examples on the Web
Hurley shared a series of appeal letters for one service, in which the billing office acknowledged that blood work had been initially incorrectly coded as diagnostic.
—
Zach Dyer, Miami Herald, 6 Jan. 2026
Veteran guard Tiffany Hayes, who wasn’t initially planning to play in the league this year, signed on to play for Phantom in mid-December after Satou Sabally was ruled out indefinitely with lingering symptoms from a concussion.
—Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 6 Jan. 2026
Rescuers initially treated Davis for hypothermia before carrying her through the brush to an awaiting ambulance.
—Outside, 6 Jan. 2026
The film may initially present Man-su as a sympathetic family man trying to make ends meet, but Lee quickly subverts those sentiments once Man-su’s methodical process betrays no sense of remorse.
—Los Angeles Times, 6 Jan. 2026
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Zach Dyer, Miami Herald, 6 Jan. 2026
Veteran guard Tiffany Hayes, who wasn’t initially planning to play in the league this year, signed on to play for Phantom in mid-December after Satou Sabally was ruled out indefinitely with lingering symptoms from a concussion.
—Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 6 Jan. 2026
Rescuers initially treated Davis for hypothermia before carrying her through the brush to an awaiting ambulance.
—Outside, 6 Jan. 2026
The film may initially present Man-su as a sympathetic family man trying to make ends meet, but Lee quickly subverts those sentiments once Man-su’s methodical process betrays no sense of remorse.
—Los Angeles Times, 6 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for initially
Cite this Entry
“Initially.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/initially. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
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