1
as in concise
marked by the use of few words to convey much information or meaning
a brief but crucial admonition to keep quiet
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in short
not lasting for a considerable time
fortunately, the meeting was brief
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in flash
lasting only for a short time
a brief flash of light
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in summary
a short statement of the main points
a one-page brief of the intelligence report
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in mission
a specific task with which a person or group is charged
the soldiers' brief was to secure the village from enemy attacks
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in to inform
to give information to
the lieutenant briefed his superior officers on the state of the enemy's fortifications
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to summarize
to make into a short statement of the main points (as of a report)
his duties include briefing intelligence reports for the president
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of brief
Rashi Shrivastava, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
According to a brief history of the Danish hotdog on Visit Copenhagen’s website, sausage stands began to materialize on Denmark’s streets shortly after the First World War, in the likeness of similar vendors in neighboring Germany, Sweden, and Norway.
—Li Goldstein, Bon Appetit Magazine, 8 Sep. 2025
Chris Spargo, People.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Within the brief, each member’s outfit stood apart from — but somehow spoke to — the others.
—Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2025
Robert Birsel, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
In other business, Director of Grants and Assessments Linda Williams briefed the board on the district’s IREAD scores.
—Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for brief
Adjective
In a brief period of time Mercor has become one of the AI era’s poster children for Silicon Valley’s twenty-something founders.
—Rashi Shrivastava, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
According to a brief history of the Danish hotdog on Visit Copenhagen’s website, sausage stands began to materialize on Denmark’s streets shortly after the First World War, in the likeness of similar vendors in neighboring Germany, Sweden, and Norway.
—Li Goldstein, Bon Appetit Magazine, 8 Sep. 2025
Noun
Lawyers for the state challenged that ruling in an amicus brief filed with the New Mexico Supreme Court, who just heard arguments in the case last week.
—Chris Spargo, People.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Within the brief, each member’s outfit stood apart from — but somehow spoke to — the others.
—Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2025
Verb
No one from my center has ever briefed him on any of those topics.
—Robert Birsel, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
In other business, Director of Grants and Assessments Linda Williams briefed the board on the district’s IREAD scores.
—Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for brief
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brief
Adjective
-
McVey, 28, has reaped a personal bonus from the concise coaching: he’s been freed up to develop his game by not having to direct traffic as much.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 Aug. 2025
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Then draft a concise, personalized cover letter highlighting my strongest fit points.—
Caroline Castrillon,
Forbes.com,
26 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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On its opening day, multiple patients from UHI made the short walk across Fisherman Street to the big blue bus to wait for their names to be called.—
Lauren Costantino,
Miami Herald,
5 Sep. 2025
-
The advent of short-form cricket has seen fielding standards rise rapidly in the past decade.—
James Wallace,
New York Times,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
What To Know A map shared by the NWS on Facebook showed a broad corridor of flash-flood risk spanning the Western states and Southern Plains.—
Hollie Silverman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Aug. 2025
-
The emerging miners, exposed directly to the flash during its first split second, were covered in flash-absorbing black.—
Charles Pellegrino,
Rolling Stone,
6 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
That's the general summary of the argument insider Robert Murray of FanSided made on Monday, when suggesting that the slugger could ditch Philadelphia for one of his former clubs.—
Jackson Roberts,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Sep. 2025
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Both products can also provide summaries of text conversations in threads and channels.—
John Brandon,
PC Magazine,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
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What began as a chance to build a sales team and achieve financial independence turned into a mission to serve working families.—
William Jones,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
-
On that June mission, all passengers on board the flotilla were detained off the coast, taken to Israel and later deported.—
Callum Sutherland,
Time,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
But maybe you guys should've informed your employees to inform your guests in person or made an announcement in person before posting it on social media.—
Megan Cartwright,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Wu hasn’t worked with his source material in a literal way; rather, Rauschenberg’s collages have informed his approach to the collection, which is built around classic American style.—
Vogue Runway,
Vogue,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Antonio Torres then summarized his claims, saying Geller had signed off on athletes in similar situations in the past.—
Charles Baggarly,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
4 Sep. 2025
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Evaluating Oracle across Growth, Profitability, Financial Stability, and Downturn Resilience suggests the company retains a strong operating and financial base, as summarized below.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Seattle did very little to silence those critics in Week 1.—
Michael-Shawn Dugar,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
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He was joined by little bro Jason, who's younger than him by 13 months.—
Skyler Caruso,
PEOPLE,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Brief.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brief. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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