Earlier
Earlier adverb - So as to precede something in order of time.
Initially
Initially adverb - In the beginning.
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Synonyms for Initially
Earlier and initially are semantically related. Sometimes you can use "Earlier" instead an adverb "Initially".
Mutual synonyms
Both words in one sentence
- His Story Repeats Itself: Kuroda initially takes Kokkan off the execution list because he looks like Kuroda's son, who was murdered a few years earlier.
Source: Web Comic / A Broken Winter - It goes back even earlier than that: Death was initially only lurking around Castlevania because that's what he does.
- In Letters to Juliet, this causes Sophie some grief when Charlie introduces her to a woman named Patricia, who Sophie initially assumes was the ex-girlfriend he had mentioned earlier in the film.
Source: Relative Error
Cite this Source
Initially and Earlier. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 29, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/earlier/initially
Earlier & Initially. N.p., 2016. Web. 29 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/earlier/initially>.
Initially or Earlier. 2016. Accessed July 29, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/earlier/initially.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "earlier" and "initially" have occurred on timeline