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briefly

[ breef-lee ]
/ ˈbrif li /
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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.
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Origin of briefly

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at brief, -ly

Words nearby briefly

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Ā© Random House, Inc. 2022

MORE ABOUT BRIEFLY

What doesĀ briefly 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 brieflyĀ come from?

The first records of the word briefly come from the 1200s. Its base word, brief, ultimately comes from the Latin brevis, meaning ā€œshort.ā€ 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 ā€œin a quick, abrupt, or brusque manner.ā€ This sense of the word can imply a certain rudeness that’s not implied when briefly means ā€œfor a short timeā€ or ā€œconcise.ā€ 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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What are some other forms related to briefly?

What are some synonyms for briefly?

What are some words that share a root or word element with briefly?Ā 

What are some words that often get used in discussing briefly?

How isĀ briefly used in real life?

Briefly is a very common word and perhaps the briefest way to say ā€œin a short amount of time.ā€

 

 

Try usingĀ briefly!

Which of the following words is NOT a synonym of briefly?

A. abruptly
B. brusquely
C. concisely
D. protractedly

How to use briefly in a sentence

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