at first

ADVERB

originally

Synonyms

STRONGEST

basically formerly

STRONG

primitively

WEAK

at the outset at the start by birth by origin first in the beginning in the first place incipiently primarily to begin with

Antonyms

WEAK

secondarily

ADVERB

primarily

Synonyms

WEAK

at the start first and foremost from the start in the first place initially originally primitively

Antonyms

WEAK

finally secondarily

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.

This was a night when one Geordie turned up in a Newcastle replica shirt which, at first glance, looked like any other.

From BBC

At first, she told me he was leaving Chicago on a work trip, but the next day she told me the truth.

From The Wall Street Journal

But for the last five years, they had been disappearing; slowly at first, and then fast, in a great and terrible rush.

From Literature

He had not gone far when the ground began, infinitesimally at first but then quite unmistakably, to shake under his feet.

From Literature

There was one great peak ahead of them; the incline was steady at first—rock and grass and lichen—and then steep, in sharp jags.

From Literature