as in originally
in the beginning
firstly, gather all the ingredients together
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Recent Examples of firstly
In a recent strategy memo, Senate Democrats’ campaign arm firstly and optimistically assumes the party will hold Michigan and New Hampshire, where Democratic incumbents are choosing not to seek another term, and Georgia, where Sen. Jon Ossoff is.
—
Philip Elliott, Time, 26 Jan. 2026
Um, firstly, thank you everybody for, for, for coming and joining us today for this conversation.
—Outside Online, 21 Jan. 2026
The resurgence of trends that were popular back in the 1990s came firstly as quite the surprise.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 30 Oct. 2025
That's firstly true about the size of the drone itself.
—New Atlas, 17 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for firstly
Philip Elliott, Time, 26 Jan. 2026
Um, firstly, thank you everybody for, for, for coming and joining us today for this conversation.
—Outside Online, 21 Jan. 2026
The resurgence of trends that were popular back in the 1990s came firstly as quite the surprise.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 30 Oct. 2025
That's firstly true about the size of the drone itself.
—New Atlas, 17 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for firstly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for firstly
Adverb
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These questions were raised after reporting by The New York Times in August 2024 regarding Moore’s untruthful claims about receiving the Bronze Star in Afghanistan — a story originally reported on in 2022 by FOX45’s Mikenzie Frost.—
Baltimore Sun staff,
Baltimore Sun,
26 Apr. 2026
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The Florio dynasty, once one of Sicily’s most influential families, purchased Villa Igiea from English admiral Sir William Domville in 1899, and the property was originally known as Villa Domville.—
Connor Sturges,
Condé Nast Traveler,
26 Apr. 2026
Adverb
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Losing hope Some of Blue Hills’ former employees initially held out hope that the nonprofit could reopen once the state finished its audit and lifted the freeze on Blue Hills accounts.—
Andrew Brown,
Hartford Courant,
27 Apr. 2026
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Third-stringer Luka Garza also saw first-quarter action, with Mazzulla initially deploying Vucevic against Embiid and Garza against veteran backup Andre Drummond.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Firstly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/firstly. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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