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]

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Example Sentences

"At first, we thought something was wrong with the camera, and then we thought it could've been something wrong with our image processing," said the paper's lead author Jessica Sunshine, a professor with joint appointments in the Department of Astronomy and Department of Geological, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences at UMD.

From Science Daily

"We couldn't believe it at first because it was subtle and unique."

From Science Daily

At first, the feeling was eerie; the cameras peered into a city with dimmed lights, shrouded in silence.

From Salon

Paxton at first said there was no chance he’d get out of the race should he lose the endorsement.

From Slate

She said it was daunting at first, as many actors in the cast already knew each other from previous seasons, but that she soon felt "part of the family".

From BBC

Related Words

• basically
• formerly