at first glance


Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Encyclopedia.
Related to at first glance: couldn't, by way of, at least, in total, take it for granted

at first glance

Upon first seeing or considering something. At first glance, I thought the house was great, but the inspector's list of problems changed my opinion. The contract did seem favorable at first glance, but I can see now that it would not have been beneficial.
See also: first, glance

at first glance

 and at first blush
when first examined; at an early stage. At first glance, the problem appeared quite simple. Later we learned just how complex it really was. He appeared quite healthy at first glance. At first blush, she appeared to be quite old.
See also: first, glance

at first glance

COMMON You say at first glance when you are describing your first opinion of someone or something, especially when this opinion is wrong or incomplete. At first glance, the room looked tidy and ordered. He had a round face that, at first glance, made him look boyish, though closer inspection revealed a man in early middle age. Compare with at first sight.
See also: first, glance

at first ˈglance/ˈsight

as things seem at first; judging by first appearances: At first glance, the exam paper looked fairly difficult, but once I got started I found it quite easy.
See also: first, glance, sight

at first glance

On initial consideration: At first glance the plan seemed unworkable.
See also: first, glance
References in periodicals archive ?
All of this, at first glance, seems perfectly reasonable and helpful--if, that is to say, our assumption is correct that improved communication and understanding between people will bring about greater harmony between them.
Do we actually want open discussion?
Although at first glance this result may seem odd, it makes perfect sense when one considers the deferral implications of both the passive and capital loss limitations.
Release of capital and passive losses in dispositions of passive activities
The impact may not be as strong as it seems at first glance, however.
Baby boomers slated for inheritance windfall
At first glance the city of Timmins appears to be bustling with construction activity.
Public sector generates construction activity
Even at first glance, none of the elephants treated its image as another of its own kind, a typical first reaction in other species.
Hey, that's me!
Although at first glance the Quebec steadfastness appears to be a result of prudence and a refusal to kowtow to a politically correct agenda, it may in fact be an outgrowth of purely financial concerns.
Ban on "gay" blood donation stays in place
What appears at first glance to be 15 chapters of heavy lifting fly right by.
Opus Dei
Her newest work, exhibited under the title "My Watercolor Story," might at first glance seem somewhat more conventional.
Monique van Genderen: the happy Lion
Plenty of other accounts of gospel/soul singer Sam Cooke have been written before, so at first glance the need for yet another in Dream Boogie: The Triumph Of Sam Cooke seems illogical, even redundant--but wait, there's more depth and detail here than in others.
Dream Boogie
Though it resembles a child's picturebook at first glance, The Book of Daniel is a faithful rendition of the Biblical story and equally meaningful to young and old readers.
The Book of Daniel
At first glance, it may be easy to call into question the credibility of actuaries based on the overall magnitude of recent reserve increases.
The actuary's role
At first glance this all reads like a slightly altered version of last year's Boy Meets Boy--on which a man tried to pick out his fellow queers from among a pool of gay and straight suitors--but according to Byrne, Straight was sold to Fox before Bravo's hit queer reality series was announced.
Girl meets boys: Fox tests one woman's gaydar on the guess-who's-not-gay dating show Playing It Straight
Written in an easy-to-read style, it seems at first glance a story collection.
Linden, Eugene. The octopus and the orangutan; new tales of animal intrigue, intelligence, and ingenuity
Nachi, at first glance, appeared to be a "good" worm designed to remove Blaster from infected computers and patch a security hole in the Windows OS.
Attack of the worms: summer e-mail viruses clog university networks
At first glance, Louis Armstrong, Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso and Fats Waller make strange bedfellows.
Jazz Modernism: From Ellington and Armstrong to Matisse and Joyce
Idioms browser ?
Full browser ?