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

Germany, which was initially very reluctant to get involved in the conflict, refusing to provide Kyiv with weapons, eventually did so and is now one of the country’s biggest backers. —Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 20 Feb. 2026

Dane had initially agreed to appear in only one episode of the long-running ABC drama, but remained a fixture — and eye candy for fans — for more than 130 episodes until 2012. —Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2026

Sierra Leone's president initially agreed to an interview but later did not respond to requests for comment. —Ed Davey The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 19 Feb. 2026

While initially perplexing to the Messers and other anglers, some now believe this was part of Phillips’ long con. —Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 19 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1628, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for initially

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