Originally

//əˈɹɪd͡ʒ.ɪ.nə.li// adv

adv ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adverb
  1. 1
    As it was in the beginning; at first. not-comparable

    "Originally, this paper was white, but over the years it has yellowed with age."

  2. 2
    In an original manner.

    "They had to think originally to come up with those creative ideas."

Adverb
  1. 1
    in an manner suggesting originality wordnet
  2. 2
    before now wordnet
  3. 3
    with reference to the origin or beginning wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
at firstin beginningab initioab ovoaborigineat first

Example

More examples

"I hope to make clear why I think Emmet's theory, originally introduced in the field of design architecture, is so important in physics."

Etymology

From Middle English originali; equivalent to original + -ly.

More for "originally"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.