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

He was initially ordered held on $200,000 bond but was later granted release without bail, according to public records. — Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 16 Sep. 2026

Leadership initially believed medical utilization was the primary driver and was considering higher deductibles and shifting more of the increase to employees. — Jennifer Schaefer, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2026

As a young child, Xaver Schlager initially played as a goalkeeper. — Paul Taylor, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2026

In his place, Schild initially requested that a federal public defender be assigned to Abrahamson’s case before Stokes was retained as his new attorney. — Kevin Fixler september 16, Idaho Statesman, 16 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1628, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for initially

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