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.
Examples of initially in a Sentence
we initially intended to rebuild our hurricane-damaged home from the ground up
Recent Examples on the Web
The toddler, identified as Charlie Ramraykha, died Monday afternoon at Jamaica Hospital after he was found inside a house at 157th Street near 109th Avenue in Jamaica with blood on his chest and with what officers initially thought were stab wounds, the NYPD said.
—
Mark Prussin, CBS News, 29 Dec. 2025
For more than 25 years, Malin has worked with abuse victims whose complaints were initially brushed off, or who felt unsafe sharing their story to authorities.
—Tamia Fowlkes, jsonline.com, 29 Dec. 2025
The Sex Pistols initially existed from 1975 until 1978, releasing their sole studio album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols in 1977.
—Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 29 Dec. 2025
Hamas, which initially accepted the ceasefire text, now denounces the framework as an effort to turn an emergency pause into a permanent security order.
—Mohammed R. Mhawish, New Yorker, 29 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for initially
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Mark Prussin, CBS News, 29 Dec. 2025
For more than 25 years, Malin has worked with abuse victims whose complaints were initially brushed off, or who felt unsafe sharing their story to authorities.
—Tamia Fowlkes, jsonline.com, 29 Dec. 2025
The Sex Pistols initially existed from 1975 until 1978, releasing their sole studio album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols in 1977.
—Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 29 Dec. 2025
Hamas, which initially accepted the ceasefire text, now denounces the framework as an effort to turn an emergency pause into a permanent security order.
—Mohammed R. Mhawish, New Yorker, 29 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for initially
Cite this Entry
“Initially.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/initially. Accessed 6 Jan. 2026.
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