as in originally
in the beginning
firstly, gather all the ingredients together
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Recent Examples of firstly
Um, firstly, thank you everybody for, for, for coming and joining us today for this conversation.
—
Outside Online, 21 Jan. 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for firstly
Outside Online, 21 Jan. 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for firstly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for firstly
Adverb
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Some of the works and items are still arranged as Frick had originally installed them (though almost half of the permanent collection has been acquired since his death in 1919).—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Mar. 2026
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Just before the deployment, there was an ugly scene at San Francisco International Airport after agents carried away a passenger, originally from Guatemala, who was waiting to board a domestic flight with her daughter.—
Benjamin Wallace-Wells,
New Yorker,
29 Mar. 2026
Adverb
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The college initially transferred the land to the state for the project during a brief public meeting with no discussion or debate about its planned use.—
Claire Heddles,
Miami Herald,
31 Mar. 2026
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Welke is the judge who initially granted Duckett's request to test the DNA.—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA Today,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Firstly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/firstly. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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