briefly

adverb

brief·​ly ˈbrē-flē 

1

a

: in a brief way

briefly mentioned

b

: in brief

the food, briefly, was awful

2

: for a short time

briefly married

Synonyms

• compactly
• concisely
• crisply
• curtly
• elliptically
• laconically
• pithily
• shortly
• succinctly
• summarily
• tersely

Examples of briefly in a Sentence

Several important issues are only briefly mentioned.

Please briefly describe your experience.

We briefly considered canceling the trip.

Recent Examples on the Web

It’s been a particularly challenging year with only nine players, one of whom had to step away briefly after her family‘s home was lost in the Eaton fire. —Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2025

The former Philadelphia Eagles player, 37, joined Charles Barkley and Ernie Johnson for the Friday, Feb. 21 episode of their podcast, The Steam Room, and briefly discussed Travis and Swift’s relationship. —Charna Flam, People.com, 22 Feb. 2025

Lawyers suing Edison allege that a Jan. 7 power surge on a nearby, active line created a magnetic field that briefly re-energized the dormant cable, setting off the sparks that ignited the blaze. —Bloomberg, The Mercury News, 21 Feb. 2025

The film was briefly pulled from Sundance and then reinstated. —Zac Ntim, Deadline, 20 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for briefly

• chiefly