at first sight
78
3.3
- idiom
:
a primera vista
- Well, at first sight that doesn't sound too difficult.
- seem at first sight
- love at first sight
- appear at first sight
That tells us that love at first sight is actually incomplete.
- That tells us that love at first sight is actually incomplete.
- They met somebody and they fell in love at first sight and now they're getting engaged.
- So I want to describe why fractals say something which sort of sounds bizarre perhaps at first sight to these three great results.
- It's OK to stick to an idea that seems weird at first sight.
- And it's it's a wonderful moment in When Harry Met Sally that they just don't, and they don't hate each other at first sight.
- And I would argue that the guy that you ultimately fall in love with, there's a good chance that it's not going to be love at first sight.
- According to a Bustle Bustle article, if there's one sign that is most likely to fall in love at first sight, it's Pisces.
- In the early stages of dating, love at first sight is an extremely dangerous idea.
- So we can estimate at first sight what are the energies involved here.
Examples
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It was love at first sight.
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So, was it love at first sight?
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Do you believe in love at first sight?
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And it was love at first sight.
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So at first sight, you may say this is pretty obvious.
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Don't you believe in love at first sight?
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I can't recall when it happened, but I'm sure it was love at first sight.
Fiction book (1990) -
When the nobleman's son saw his intended bride-to-be, it was love at first sight.
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When he saw the vintage car in the showroom, it was love at first sight.
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The moment she laid eyes on the painting, she knew it was love at first sight.
Synonyms
32
3.5
You notice something before you look more closely
9
9.5
Appears true at first sight before more checks
9
3.0
With a quick look you notice something right away
3
6.8
When you first look at something, it seems right before you check details
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'immediately upon first seeing or encountering' is directly and transparently derived from 'at' (a temporal/location preposition) + 'first' (initial) + 'sight' (seeing), forming a straightforward temporal/adverbial phrase. This composition is cross-linguistically common (e.g., French 'à première vue', Spanish 'a primera vista'), so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
At first sight comes from the simple image of the very first sight, the first look you give when you see someone or something. That's why it means 'immediately on first seeing' before you know more.