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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in flash
lasting only for a short time
a brief flash of light
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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
Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 11 July 2025
Consider what those two third graders learned in their brief hallway squabble.
—Russell Shaw, The Atlantic, 11 July 2025
Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 3 July 2025
There also are concerns this may have influenced or rigged either the selection of the consultants or the brief for those consultants to provide feedback on alternative courses of action the project or Naperville’s energy future.
—Fernando Arriola, Chicago Tribune, 3 July 2025
Carrie Johnson, NPR, 8 July 2025
Washington — The Department of Homeland Security's intelligence arm plans to cut nearly three-quarters of its full-time employees, shaving its Office of Intelligence & Analysis down from about 1,000 staff to just 275, according to four sources briefed on the matter.
—July 3, CBS News, 3 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for brief
Adjective
Director of football Jason Wilcox also joined, while Ruben Amorim made a brief appearance too.
—Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 11 July 2025
Consider what those two third graders learned in their brief hallway squabble.
—Russell Shaw, The Atlantic, 11 July 2025
Noun
The brief is to oversee recruitment, retention, coaching, medical, logistics, education, pastoral and more.
—Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 3 July 2025
There also are concerns this may have influenced or rigged either the selection of the consultants or the brief for those consultants to provide feedback on alternative courses of action the project or Naperville’s energy future.
—Fernando Arriola, Chicago Tribune, 3 July 2025
Verb
Its court briefs cite a case during the Clinton administration when then-U.S. attorney and now Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., sued the court in Rhode Island over a rule about issuing subpoenas to attorneys.
—Carrie Johnson, NPR, 8 July 2025
Washington — The Department of Homeland Security's intelligence arm plans to cut nearly three-quarters of its full-time employees, shaving its Office of Intelligence & Analysis down from about 1,000 staff to just 275, according to four sources briefed on the matter.
—July 3, CBS News, 3 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for brief
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brief
Adjective
-
The Journal Sentinel aims to provide both in-depth investigative journalism and quick, concise news updates.—
Greg Borowski,
jsonline.com,
11 July 2025
-
Solution: The first step is to establish a concise cyber risk governance committee charter, a high-trust document that outlines the committee's responsibilities, authority, composition and decision-making boundaries.—
Phillimon Zongo,
Forbes.com,
10 July 2025
Adjective
-
To prove their point that filmmaking is an outstanding creative process, and can be done with no money, the sisters shot their first ever short film in a hot air balloon, 2000 meters up in the air.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
1 July 2025
-
The location, just across the street from the Boston Common and just a short walk from the Freedom Trail, the Boston Public Garden and some terrific shopping, is ideal.—
Sherrie Nachman,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
Adjective
-
Don’t let the lack of flash fool you — this guy is the real deal.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
The Mercury News,
3 Mar. 2025
-
The German figures come a day before the scheduled release of flash inflation data for the euro area, which will be closely watched by investors for guidance on the odds of another interest rate cut from the European Central Bank.—
Sophie Kiderlin,
CNBC,
30 Sep. 2024
Noun
-
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in the Miami Herald newsroom.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
10 July 2025
-
That includes Call Notes (an automatic summary of your phone call), and support for the Pixel Screenshots app.—
Julian Chokkattu,
Wired News,
10 July 2025
Noun
-
On June 23 the ESA released the mission’s first images, which showcase its unique capability to peer through dense vegetation to study our planet’s forests and other ecosystems as never before.—
Emma R. Hasson,
Scientific American,
1 July 2025
-
Talent - the big challenge Ensuring a safe, flawless passenger experience and delivering on the team’s strategic mission requires dedicated, experienced employees.—
Judith Magyar,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
Verb
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Some of his friends are aware, and Mayer spoke with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali to inform him of the campaign only the day prior, out of courtesy.—
Madeline Coleman,
New York Times,
5 July 2025
-
The camp previously sent an email to families informing them of the situation, which was later shared by KEYE.—
David Chiu,
People.com,
4 July 2025
Verb
-
The motive can be summarized as pure agency, pure evil; in other words, premeditated murder.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
4 July 2025
-
This week's Think Texas column summarizes her work.—
Michael Barnes,
Austin American Statesman,
2 July 2025
Adjective
-
Map out revenue producing divisions by their profit and loss numbers, evaluate direct margins for the division, identify the weakest division that perpetually makes little or no direct margin and sacrifice them.—
Shivaram Rajgopal,
Forbes.com,
5 July 2025
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But most of the middle part is missing, and there’s little to explain how the event unfolded from one stage to the next.—
Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi,
Discover Magazine,
5 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Brief.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brief. Accessed 16 Jul. 2025.
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