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Synonyms

at first

Idioms  

  1. Initially, at the start, as in At first the berries were green, but when they ripened they turned bright red. [Second half of 1500s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"At first, becoming a surrogate made me angry and disappointed, but now I've just accepted it," says Karina Tarasenko who now lives on the outskirts of Kyiv in an apartment provided by her surrogacy clinic.

From BBC • May 7, 2026

At first it was just prints, but they quickly expanded to paintings and sculptures.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026

"At first we were a little worried, but we knew that coming here at dawn was an experience not to be missed," Matteo Protti-Barbieri, a 23-year-old French student, told AFP.

From Barron's • Apr. 21, 2026

At first glance, the documents look like a legitimate judicial product.

From Slate • Apr. 21, 2026

At first, I thought people were joking when they said he’d married a Winnebago.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.