initially

American  

[ih-nish-uh-lee] / ɪˈnɪʃ ə li /

adverb

1. happening first; at the start; in the beginning.

   Although natural gas cars cost a bit more initially, savings from lower fuel costs can help make up the difference.

   The foundation initially funded only educational programs, but later also awarded grants for emotional and social support.

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Etymology

Origin of initially

initial ( def. ) + -ly

Explanation

The word initially can be used to describe an action that happened first. You might initially want fish for dinner, but then end up getting the pasta special that looks so good. The adverb initially can describe something that happened at the beginning. Initially you might have thought the apartment was too small, but then you decided to take it because of the rooftop garden. You initially wanted to go to college far from home, but decided to stay closer to be near your family. The bride-to-be initially wanted an outdoor wedding, but decided against it because of the area's unpredictable weather.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

initially

Annual war games between South Korea and the United States ended on Friday, Seoul's military told AFP, days earlier than initially planned after US President Donald Trump had abruptly ordered them curtailed.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

Treasury yields held close to flat after earlier retracing sharp falls that initially followed the Treasury’s surprise bond market intervention.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

In a news release issued last month, the Mexican attorney general’s office said Jando was initially identified by another name.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

"I was like, oh, this is really cool," he said, initially expecting only a few thousand people to be interested.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

The three teens initially feared that Papa would die.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

Related Words

• originally