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briefly
[ breef-lee ]
adverb
- for a short duration:
He stopped over briefly in Chicago.
- in a few words:
Let me explain briefly.
- in a brief manner; quickly or brusquely:
She nodded briefly and began to speak.
Word History and Origins
Example Sentences
The contaminated water released toxic gas that briefly engulfed Dunsmuir and made hundreds of people ill.
That same day, Stritikus stopped by to speak briefly with students, according to videos shared with The Times.
After the first doses of gas, the woman kicked a passenger door open with her bare foot and briefly appeared, before closing the door and staying inside the truck.
The French ended up occupying Mexico for several years, briefly installing Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph, an Austrian duke, as emperor.
His first major post-ArtCenter gig was in Detroit, working briefly for the Ford Motor Co.
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Related Words
More About Briefly
doesbriefly mean?
Briefly means for a short amount of time.
It can also mean concisely or in a few words, as opposed to in a longer manner, as in State your main argument briefly in a sentence or two.
Briefly is the adverb form of the adjective brief, which most commonly means lasting a short time or concise. Because it’s an adverb, briefly is used to describe verbs (actions), as in I briefly considered it, or adjectives, as in The conversation was briefly tense, but then everyone started to get along.
Example: It rained briefly, probably only for a few minutes.
Where does ڱcome from?
The first records of the word briefly come from the 1200s. Its base word, brief, ultimately comes from the Latin brevis, meaning “short.” The suffix -ly is used to form adverbs.
Briefly is most commonly used to describe actions that happen only for a short time, often because there isn’t a lot of time in which to do them, as in I only have a few minutes before I have to leave, so I can only briefly discuss our plans for tonight. When you do something briefly, you do it for a short amount of time, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you do it quickly. However, a less common sense of the word briefly does mean “in a quick, abrupt, or brusque manner.” This sense of the word can imply a certain rudeness that’s not implied when briefly means “for a short time” or “concise.” For example, if you say that a person dealt with you briefly, it may mean that you think they should have taken a bit more time rather than brushing you off so quickly.
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How isbriefly used in real life?
Briefly is a very common word and perhaps the briefest way to say “in a short amount of time.”
Stockholm, thank you for having us so briefly.
— Harry Styles. (@Harry_Styles)
it's kinda lame when someone you met briefly and never worked with comments on you. I will continue to wish them luck and be kind.
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber)
People say Sokka is overconfident but I would also be pretty confident if I briefly dated the moon…
— Netflix (@netflix)
Try usingbriefly!
Which of the following words is NOT a synonym of briefly?
A. abruptly
B. brusquely
C. concisely
D. protractedly
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