✅ First refers to something that happens before something else, for the first time, or in preference to something else (Text me first before you leave).

✅ Initially refers to something that happened first, or happened at the start or beginning of something (He was concerned initially; She initially planned to open a book and coffee shop, but changed her mind).

✅ Initially often implies that something has since changed, while first does not (First she told me what she wanted to do; Initially we had our office in the garage).

✅ Add first to at, and you get the phrase at first, which can mean the same thing as initially.

Make a resolution to get a bigger vocabulary, starting with these synonyms for initially!

✅ Old describes something that belongs to the past, and has gone or faded away (I miss hanging out with my friends in the old days).

✅ Bygone describes something that is past, former, or gone (The photographs reminded her of bygone days).

✅ Old and bygone can both describe a period that is now just in memory, or in history, but old is more general, and doesn’t suggest any particular feeling (The old days weren’t as good as you remember).

✅ Bygone suggests something that evokes nostalgic or wistful feelings (The music was reminiscent of a bygone era).

Try writing about your favorite bygone era with the help of Grammar Coach.

✅ Evening and twilight both refer to a period of the day around sunset, and twilight can also refer to the soft light around sunset or before sunrise (The fireflies came out in the twilight).

✅ Both are used metaphorically to mean the last years of something (I made sure to enjoy the evening of my life; The twilight years of the Victorian period).

✅ Evening, in its straightforward sense, often refers to a longer period of time than twilight, and it is more common to use twilight metaphorically or poetically.

Try describing something that happens during twilight with the help of Grammar Coach.