as in to interrogate
to officially ask (someone) about a job that has been done or about an experience
Police debriefed the hostages upon their return. The pilot was debriefed after his flight.
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Recent Examples of debrief
Some of us are going to be telling stories (gesturing to Flowers and Morrison) and some of us are going to be speaking with the village elders about how to make your life better (gesturing to Shepard and Robbins), and some of us are going to be trying to debrief about the news of the day.
—
Julian Sancton, HollywoodReporter, 17 Nov. 2025
Dinner is a fun time for travelers to debrief about the day before getting prepped for the next day.
—Miami Herald, 30 Oct. 2025
For Morgan, making a video at the end of the day, debriefing all aspects of the long, grueling days of recruitment, was never going to be a polished piece of content.
—Tabitha Parent, People.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Importantly, there was no significant difference in recovery between people who were debriefed and those who were not.
—Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for debrief
Julian Sancton, HollywoodReporter, 17 Nov. 2025
Dinner is a fun time for travelers to debrief about the day before getting prepped for the next day.
—Miami Herald, 30 Oct. 2025
For Morgan, making a video at the end of the day, debriefing all aspects of the long, grueling days of recruitment, was never going to be a polished piece of content.
—Tabitha Parent, People.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Importantly, there was no significant difference in recovery between people who were debriefed and those who were not.
—Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for debrief
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debrief
Verb
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With Ellis’ help, Arsenal improved their capacity to analyse the market, evaluate their squad and interrogate their decision-making.—
James McNicholas,
New York Times,
5 Mar. 2026
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Even if your wardrobe leans more trendy, try interrogating yourself about certain pieces in your closet.—
Hannah Jackson,
Vogue,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Adult witnesses whom Cox will be able to question include a mother who had a child under the age of 12 with her and allegedly saw Cox masturbating in the shower.—
Amy DeLaura,
The Washington Examiner,
7 Mar. 2026
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Over two days of questioning this week, senators and representatives pushed her to explain the ad campaign.—
Rebecca Santana,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The test examined everything from the launch sequence to the deployment and separation of the reentry vehicles.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Mar. 2026
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The senator also challenged how deeply UConn examined Agwunobi’s record running other hospitals in Georgia, Florida, California and Washington state, as well as his brief tenure on the board of WellCare, a Florida company at the center of a massive Medicaid scandal nearly 20 years ago.—
Mark Pazniokas,
Hartford Courant,
4 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Debrief.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debrief. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
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