as in concisely
in a few words
tell us briefly why you chose this position
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Recent Examples of briefly
Absinthe 1 egg white Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker and shake briefly without ice to whip the egg.
—
Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 10 Jan. 2026
Heyward's journey ended when teammate James Pierre crashed into him, sending Heyward briefly to the bench.
—CBS News, 10 Jan. 2026
Indiana went on a 14-1 run in the third to take the lead from Nebraska (14-2, 3-2) for the first time since the beginning of the game, leading briefly at 51-49.
—Arkansas Online, 9 Jan. 2026
The entire encounter — a law enforcement officer standing briefly in front of a vehicle, then to its side while firing multiple fatal shots at its driver — lasted less than 30 seconds.
—Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 9 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for briefly
Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 10 Jan. 2026
Heyward's journey ended when teammate James Pierre crashed into him, sending Heyward briefly to the bench.
—CBS News, 10 Jan. 2026
Indiana went on a 14-1 run in the third to take the lead from Nebraska (14-2, 3-2) for the first time since the beginning of the game, leading briefly at 51-49.
—Arkansas Online, 9 Jan. 2026
The entire encounter — a law enforcement officer standing briefly in front of a vehicle, then to its side while firing multiple fatal shots at its driver — lasted less than 30 seconds.
—Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 9 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for briefly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for briefly
Adverb
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Practice answering concisely and confidently in your own voice.—
Kathy Caprino,
Forbes.com,
20 Aug. 2025
Adverb
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Byrne and Cannavale first met in 2012 and sparked dating rumors shortly thereafter.—
Rachel Raposas,
PEOPLE,
9 Jan. 2026
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Carneiro crushed a 58-yarder shortly before half to cut the Hurricanes’ lead to 17-13.—
Adam Lichtenstein,
Sun Sentinel,
9 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Briefly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/briefly. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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