initiallyadverb
uk/ɪˈnɪʃ.əl.i/us/ɪˈnɪʃ.əl.i/B2 at the beginning:
Initially, most people approved of the new plan.
The damage was far more serious than initially believed.
More examples
- He was initially blackballed because of a dispute he once had with a couple of the committee members.
- Special preferences were offered initially to encourage investment.
- The building was used as a bank initially, but its is now used as a restaurant.
- He played trumpet initially, but switched to the piano when he was in his twenties.
- The economic changes initially produced hardship.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
First and firstly
- at first idiom
- begin
- debut
- first come, first served idiom
- firstly
- for starters idiom
- from the word go idiom
- in the first/second place idiom
- inaugural
- initial
- introduction
- opener
- place
- prefatory
- primary
- proto-
- starter
- to begin with idiom
- ur-
- word
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