briefly

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.

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.

What are some other forms related to briefly?

• brief (adjective)

What are some synonyms for briefly?

• concisely
• succinctly
• abruptly
• brusquely

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

• briefing

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

• discuss
• explain
• speak
• state
• write
• stop

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) December 5, 2014

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) May 9, 2011

People say Sokka is overconfident but I would also be pretty confident if I briefly dated the moon…

— Netflix (@netflix) May 19, 2020

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

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