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

Shea initially lied about the discrepancy but later confessed, according to Merriweather. — Julia Coin, Charlotte Observer, 15 Oct. 2026

Chen initially resisted the rainbow-like chromatic aberration familiar from other screen depictions of superpowers. — Davide Abbatescianni, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026

Michael Arabian was initially intimidated by the thought of directing Mandell, who had previously worked on the play with the author. — Anthony Solorzano, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026

The administration initially talked about abolishing the agency, arguing that states and communities could deal with disasters on their own. — Dana R. Fisher, The Conversation, 14 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1628, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for initially

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