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

Engineers will initially run the engine horizontally while the aircraft rests on its launch and recovery vehicle. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 4 Nov. 2026

In Westchester County, election officials said ballot scanners were not accepting paper ballots, an issue that resulted from a program update made after polling equipment was initially prepared and tested. — Arkansas Online, 4 Nov. 2026

McDoom initially considered covering an older song, but instead wrote something for her grandfather. — Emma Madden, Pitchfork, 4 Nov. 2026

Still, Ossoff’s unabashedly aggressive approach initially struck some Democrats as a gamble. — Bill Barrow, Chicago Tribune, 4 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1628, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for initially

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