in the beginning

ADJECTIVE

first

Synonyms

STRONGEST

early

STRONG

aboriginal antecedent anterior basic beginning cardinal front fundamental head inaugural initial key leading opening original pioneer premier primary prime primitive

WEAK

elementary first off headmost inceptive incipient introductory lead off number one numero uno primeval primogenial primordial pristine right up front rudimentary

Antonyms

STRONGEST

last

STRONG

ending extra final following second

ADVERB

originally

Synonyms

STRONGEST

basically formerly

STRONG

primitively

WEAK

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

Antonyms

WEAK

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.

Maybe we should have asked more questions in the beginning?

From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026

“It started off very normal in the beginning, very casual,” book club member Cassandra Leisz explains.

From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2026

Musk testified Tuesday he only wanted control of OpenAI in the beginning to ensure it would “go in the right direction.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 29, 2026

Last quarter, the Gemini app had over 750 million monthly active users, and investors will be on the lookout for more signs of increased adoption in the beginning of 2026.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 28, 2026

“If you’d told me that in the beginning, I’d have laughed at you. I hated it at first. I cried when Steven showed it to me.”

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

in the beginning

Example Sentences

Related Words