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 of briefly

• concisely
• shortly

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

In the 1990s, Mason briefly joined Fleetwood Mac, plating on the band's 1995 album Time. —Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 22 Apr. 2026

In ritual gatherings, music, incense and movement create a space where the unseen becomes, briefly, tangible. —Adam Pourahmadi, CNN Money, 22 Apr. 2026

But moves in both the oil and stock markets have become more modest in recent weeks, following vicious swings where Brent’s price briefly topped $119 and the S&P 500 dropped nearly 10% below its prior all-time high. —Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2026

Toward the end of the session, Reichardt briefly turned to the question of fiction and nonfiction, playfully addressing Visions du Réel artistic director Emilie Bujès, who has argued that Reichardt’s work challenges that boundary. —Lise Pedersen, Variety, 22 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

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

Rhymes for briefly

• chiefly