initially

adverb

ini·​tial·​ly i-ˈni-sh(ə-)lē 

: at the beginning : at first

The reason I initially came here was to find work.

It turned out that the situation was not as serious as we had initially believed.

Initially, the symptoms are mild.

Synonyms of initially

• originally

Examples of initially in a Sentence

we initially intended to rebuild our hurricane-damaged home from the ground up

Recent Examples on the Web

The board initially expressed confidence in his leadership following the announcement. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 12 Nov. 2026

The number of people infected by an outbreak of avian flu in Washington State is much higher than initially reported, a farm workers' union has revealed. — Tom Sanders, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Nov. 2026

Thelen initially committed to Wisconsin in June but reopened his recruitment after seeing his stock rise over the summer. — Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 11 Nov. 2026

Peña was initially placed under house arrest following his removal. — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 11 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1628, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for initially

• judicially
• officially
• artificially
• beneficially
• prejudicially
• superficially
• unofficially