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.
Examples of initially in a Sentence
we initially intended to rebuild our hurricane-damaged home from the ground up
Recent Examples on the Web
Knox, who committed to wrestle at Rutgers University, and his dad were initially charged with simple assault for purposely/knowingly causing bodily injury after a brawl broke out at Collingswood High School on February.
—
Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 29 Jan. 2026
The crew initially reported that the runway wasn't visible despite calm winds and visibility being around 3,000 yards.
—Arkansas Online, 29 Jan. 2026
While Grayson was initially charged with three counts of first-degree murder, a jury convicted him of the lesser second-degree murder charge.
—Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 29 Jan. 2026
Austin Butler and Saoirse Ronan were initially tapped to play the main roles, but both dropped out due to scheduling issues, per Variety.
—Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 29 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for initially
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 29 Jan. 2026
The crew initially reported that the runway wasn't visible despite calm winds and visibility being around 3,000 yards.
—Arkansas Online, 29 Jan. 2026
While Grayson was initially charged with three counts of first-degree murder, a jury convicted him of the lesser second-degree murder charge.
—Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 29 Jan. 2026
Austin Butler and Saoirse Ronan were initially tapped to play the main roles, but both dropped out due to scheduling issues, per Variety.
—Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 29 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for initially
Cite this Entry
“Initially.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/initially. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
