Initial means first or happening at the beginning. Your initial reaction to surprising news might be shock, even if you feel differently a few minutes later. The initial chapters of a book introduce the characters and setting before the main action begins. When scientists run an initial experiment, they're taking the first step in a longer process of discovery.

It helps us talk about the difference between how things start and how they develop. A friendship's initial awkwardness can give way to comfortable closeness. A project's initial planning stage comes before the actual work begins.

As a noun, an initial is the first letter of a name. Many people sign documents using their initials instead of writing out their full signature: John Smith might sign “J.S.” When you see “F.D.R.” or “J.F.K.,” those are the initials of presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt and John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

The word initially means at first or in the beginning. You might say, “I was initially confused by the math problem, but then I figured it out.” This reminds us that beginnings don't determine endings: initial struggles often lead to eventual success.