as in originally
in the beginning
firstly, gather all the ingredients together
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Recent Examples of firstly
The resurgence of trends that were popular back in the 1990s came firstly as quite the surprise.
—
Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 30 Oct. 2025
Santo Domingo was wearing two hats at the event, firstly representing the Bird on a Rock collection, for which Nathalie Verdeille, Tiffany’s chief artistic officer of jewelry and high jewelry, reimagined Jean Schlumberger’s iconic design.
—Miles Socha, Footwear News, 3 Oct. 2025
That's firstly true about the size of the drone itself.
—New Atlas, 17 Sep. 2025
Mandelson is no stranger to controversy, and twice resigned from Tony Blair's governments: firstly in 1998 over an undeclared interest-free loan; and 2001 over accusations of using his position to influence a passport decision.
—Barney Henderson, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for firstly
Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 30 Oct. 2025
Santo Domingo was wearing two hats at the event, firstly representing the Bird on a Rock collection, for which Nathalie Verdeille, Tiffany’s chief artistic officer of jewelry and high jewelry, reimagined Jean Schlumberger’s iconic design.
—Miles Socha, Footwear News, 3 Oct. 2025
That's firstly true about the size of the drone itself.
—New Atlas, 17 Sep. 2025
Mandelson is no stranger to controversy, and twice resigned from Tony Blair's governments: firstly in 1998 over an undeclared interest-free loan; and 2001 over accusations of using his position to influence a passport decision.
—Barney Henderson, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for firstly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for firstly
Adverb
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The Wildcats' winning streak also tied the Big 12 record to start a season, originally set by Kansas in 1996-97.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
1 Feb. 2026
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The chapter originally operated at NAU from 2000 to 2016 before closing because of low membership, then returned following a multi-year effort that began in 2018 and culminated with the initiation of 23 members in March 2022, fraternity records show.—
Kathy Tulumello,
AZCentral.com,
1 Feb. 2026
Adverb
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Linafelter says what initially appeared to be a positive transition with more investment for the building itself has now put the restaurant's future at risk.—
Spencer Wilson,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
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Talks for an Audi plant have been ongoing, initially encouraged by subsidies making an investment economically viable.—
William Wilkes Bloomberg,
Arkansas Online,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Firstly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/firstly. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.
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