as in initially
in the beginning
we originally planned to go out tonight, but we changed our minds
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Recent Examples of originally
Among the most powerful Islamist groups to emerge was the Nusra Front, originally Al-Qaeda's branch in Syria, established by Sharaa in 2012.
—
Tom O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Sep. 2025
Private equity and credit firms were originally funded by a small group of sophisticated investors.
—Leslie Picker, CNBC, 2 Sep. 2025
Andrew Garfield was originally cast as the iconic literary antihero, but he was forced to back out due to scheduling conflicts.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Jones originally moved to New York in 1980, while Dafoe experienced SoHo at the height of its time as a haven for artists, through his involvement in the experimental theater company, The Wooster Group.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 31 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for originally
Tom O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Sep. 2025
Private equity and credit firms were originally funded by a small group of sophisticated investors.
—Leslie Picker, CNBC, 2 Sep. 2025
Andrew Garfield was originally cast as the iconic literary antihero, but he was forced to back out due to scheduling conflicts.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Jones originally moved to New York in 1980, while Dafoe experienced SoHo at the height of its time as a haven for artists, through his involvement in the experimental theater company, The Wooster Group.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 31 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for originally
Recent Examples of Synonyms for originally
Adverb
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Enciso has been left out of the squad for these fixtures because of his recent knee operation, and it was initially feared his lay-off afterwards would be long enough to scupper a move in the summer window.—
Andy Naylor,
New York Times,
4 Sep. 2025
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Ziva hid Tali from Tony initially and then faked her own death.—
Toni Fitzgerald,
Forbes.com,
4 Sep. 2025
Adverb
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Mercenaries are defined as soldiers who are contracted by third parties unaffiliated with a nation’s armed forces and motivated primarily by private gain.—
Rebecca Johns,
Miami Herald,
6 Sep. 2025
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Several private groups have launched their own satellites to measure atmospheric chemicals, but these have primarily focused on detecting localized methane emissions for regulatory purposes, and not on global trends.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
6 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Originally.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/originally. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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