as in originally
in the beginning
firstly, gather all the ingredients together
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Recent Examples of firstly
Its detection means that, firstly, JADES-GS-z13-1-LA produced enough high-energy radiation to excite its neutral hydrogen, and secondly that there was little neutral hydrogen between the galaxy and Earth to block the Lyman-α photons from reaching us in the present.
—
Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Mar. 2025
Now, the Democratic Party’s institutional failure to focus firstly on the economic security of working families has had epic consequences.
—John Samuelsen, New York Daily News, 11 Feb. 2025
Its success leads her to rebel, firstly through passionate love affairs with women and then by reclaiming her authorship.
—Radhika Seth, Vogue, 9 Feb. 2025
Meissner is unique among current film market directors for her perspective on the circuit having worked as a film sales agent for two decades, firstly for Celluloid Dreams and then Memento.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 5 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for firstly
Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Mar. 2025
Now, the Democratic Party’s institutional failure to focus firstly on the economic security of working families has had epic consequences.
—John Samuelsen, New York Daily News, 11 Feb. 2025
Its success leads her to rebel, firstly through passionate love affairs with women and then by reclaiming her authorship.
—Radhika Seth, Vogue, 9 Feb. 2025
Meissner is unique among current film market directors for her perspective on the circuit having worked as a film sales agent for two decades, firstly for Celluloid Dreams and then Memento.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 5 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for firstly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for firstly
Adverb
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Deadline reported in April 2024 that the show was originally cancelled due to a licensing issue between CBS and Sony.—
Emily Blackwood,
People.com,
17 May 2025
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Update, May 17, 2025: This story, originally published May 16, has been updated with news of another successful Windows 11 hack at the Pwn2Own hacking event in Berlin.—
Davey Winder,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2025
Adverb
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Shohei Ohtani pitching this season initially felt like a luxury.—
Jack Harris,
Los Angeles Times,
10 May 2025
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That bout was initially scheduled for bantamweight but was changed on weigh-in day when Aldo struggled during his weight cut.—
Trent Reinsmith,
Forbes.com,
10 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Firstly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/firstly. Accessed 25 May. 2025.
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