How to Use at first blush in a Sentence

at first blush

phrase
  • The base seems a little bulky at first blush, but this is by design.
    Theresa Holland, PEOPLE.com, 16 May 2022
  • How did the powers that be react to time travel at first blush?
    Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 July 2023
  • In this case, what looks idyllic at first blush soon turns nightmarish.
    Jessica Geltstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2022
  • Some of those charges have requirements that, at first blush, might be difficult to prove in court.
    Matt Ford, The New Republic, 28 Mar. 2022
  • Even the parts of the books that would at first blush actually seem progressive are shown to be less so.
    Luther Ray Abel, National Review, 15 Aug. 2020
  • The combination might seem like an odd culinary combo at first blush.
    Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 29 Aug. 2024
  • This choice, at first blush, might seem ridiculous to many in the Barbie audience.
    Andrea Nevins, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Aug. 2023
  • Part of the reason the Buiums were against the sport, at first blush, was the contact and violence.
    Kevin Reynolds Reporter, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 July 2021
  • The government has filed its share of weak antitrust cases in recent years, but at first blush this doesn’t look to be one of them.
    Casey Newton, The Verge, 25 Jan. 2023
  • Indeed, what seemed like a win-win partnership at first blush is now raising questions—and concerns.
    Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 18 Feb. 2026
  • Fett and the two women don’t get along well at first blush, so there’s a bit of barroom brawling and an exchange of flamethrower blasts.
    Alex Kane, USA TODAY, 19 Dec. 2020
  • So at first blush, the Milwaukee Bucks' latest hire might seem like a head-scratcher.
    Piet Levy, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 19 Mar. 2021
  • Especially given the immensity of the world’s glacial ice, at first blush that didn’t sound like very much to me.
    Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 29 Jan. 2019
  • So, at first blush, the healthcare industry doesn’t seem like a great example of growing a workforce with the right skills.
    Allison Dulin Salisbury, Forbes, 25 Aug. 2022
  • Put simply, the true extent of the 200-footer isn’t apparent at first blush.
    Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 21 Dec. 2022
  • Peyton Watson is out for a month after what at first blush appeared to be an innocuous injury.
    Aaron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post, 6 Feb. 2025
  • All in all, the Biden 2020 return is rather unremarkable, at least at first blush.
    Joseph Thorndike, Forbes, 3 June 2021
  • Kentucky and other states across the country have had to deal with vanity plates that at first blush appear to be problematic.
    Ray Padilla, Louisville Courier Journal, 29 Oct. 2025
  • These days, many tech companies are valued on a multiple of revenue and, at first blush, Zillow’s top line looks good.
    Laura Forman, WSJ, 9 Dec. 2021
  • State, which may, at first blush, seem an unconventional Cinderella.
    Becky Sullivan, NPR, 29 Mar. 2024
  • If the critique at first blush seems lacking in punch, continue to iterate and converse with the AI app.
    Lance Eliot, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2023
  • The proposition sounds a bit inhumane at first blush, after all, the kangaroo stands proudly on the Australian coat of arms.
    Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 12 Sep. 2017
  • There’s the appearance of a timeline issue for the Padres at first blush, though — at least from a public-relations perspective.
    Bryce Millercolumnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Jan. 2023
  • Even so, achieving that future will involve a lot more work than just chatting with a computer program that seems, at first blush, to know something about everything.
    Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 13 Jan. 2023
  • The New York Times’ report on the matter offers only Alden’s point of view, which sounds innocuous enough at first blush.
    Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 15 Oct. 2022
  • Psychopaths are generally charming and intelligent at first blush, successful psychopaths all the more so.
    Byerin Prater, Fortune Well, 25 May 2023
  • That figure might sound high at first blush, but it was essentially tied for last place among the issues polled with the Russia-Ukraine war (58 percent).
    Geoffrey Skelley, ABC News, 3 May 2024
  • Halfway across the globe, Brazil’s voters also appeared at first blush to be opting for an abrupt change in direction in October’s election.
    David A. Andelman, CNN, 20 Dec. 2022
  • This 5,000-square-foot space looks, at first blush, like a tropical oasis complete with cabanas and koi ponds, but the greenery doesn’t stop at the verdant garden.
    Evan Nicole Brown, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Jan. 2023
  • So, at first blush, the decision to sit Conley was a little puzzling — not that there’s anything wrong with giving a 36-year-old guard the occasional day off.
    Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 22 Jan. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'at first blush.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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