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.

Synonyms of initially

• originally

Examples of initially in a Sentence

we initially intended to rebuild our hurricane-damaged home from the ground up

Recent Examples on the Web

Washington was initially only one piece of a broader push by the administration to deploy troops to American cities. — Steven Beynon, ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026

Sacramento Fire Department crews responded to the scene, but the suspect's presence on the roof initially limited firefighters' access to parts of the building. — Richard Ramos, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026

The fire had burned 400 acres Sunday and was initially described as 20% contained. — Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 10 Aug. 2026

Founded in 2022, Haddy initially focused on custom furniture, architectural elements, and molds. — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 10 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1628, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for initially

• judicially
• officially
• artificially
• beneficially
• prejudicially
• superficially
• unofficially