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

While rumors initially claimed ICE was targeting fans, OutKick confirmed at the time that the personnel was actually California Border Control agents conducting routine operations unrelated to local sweeps. — Alejandro Avila Outkick, FOXNews.com, 21 July 2026

At the launch, XPENG only announced EREV availability in Germany, Belgium, Sweden, and Austria, not France, the Netherlands, Norway, or Denmark, which will only get the BEV initially. — James Morris, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026

Machado, who had initially endorsed Guaidó, watched his unravelling with dismay. — Stephania Taladrid, New Yorker, 20 July 2026

The high-profile project has already faced multiple delays and was initially set for delivery in 2024. — Elsa Ohlen, CNBC, 20 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1628, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for initially

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