preliminarily
Before the main
Preliminarily means in a preliminary way—as an initial step before the main action or final decision.
It often appears in legal and formal contexts: The court preliminarily approved the settlement.
Something done preliminarily is provisional, subject to later confirmation or revision.
At the outset
- beforehandIn advance
- firstPosition number one
- earlyOccurring before expected
- antecedentlyIn a preceding way
previously · ahead · in advance · at first · to begin with · to start with · from the start · originally
Conditionally, pending confirmation
- tentativelyWithout full commitment
- conditionallyWith requirements attached
- uncertainlyIn a doubtful way
- cautiouslyIn a guarded manner
hesitantly · inconclusively · noncommittally · contingently · guardedly · experimentally · doubtfully · indefinitely
In a searching manner
- experimentallyThrough systematic testing
- tentativelyWithout full commitment
- analyticallyBy careful systematic reasoning
- diagnosticallyBy identifying ailments
inquiringly · searchingly · cursorily · superficially · broadly · generally
initially
At the outset
- beforehandIn advance
- firstPosition number one
- earlyOccurring before expected
antecedently · previously · ahead · in advance · at first · to begin with · to start with · from the start · originally · primarily
provisionally
Conditionally, pending confirmation
- tentativelyWithout full commitment
- conditionallyWith requirements attached
- uncertainlyIn a doubtful way
cautiously · hesitantly · inconclusively · noncommittally · contingently · guardedly · experimentally · doubtfully · indefinitely · temporarily
probingly
In a searching manner
- experimentallyThrough systematic testing
- tentativelyWithout full commitment
- analyticallyBy careful systematic reasoning
diagnostically · inquiringly · searchingly · cursorily · superficially · broadly · generally
preliminarilyfinally
At the end
lastly · ultimately · subsequently · afterward · afterwards
preliminarilyconclusively
In a final, undeniable manner
definitively · finally · decisively · permanently · irrevocably