as in interrogates
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 debriefs
Editor Joyce Eng discuss the new name for the SAG Awards, the Actor Awards, and Gerrad debriefs on the Governors Awards.
—
Gerrad Hall, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Dec. 2025
Gerrad Hall, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debriefs
Verb
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Set in the city of New York in post-World War Two, the film interrogates media propaganda, institutional power, and exploitation amid the looming threat of a mysterious global virus.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
19 Feb. 2026
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Engage with art that interrogates identity and civic belonging.—
Lewis Nunn,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Broderick Jones’ fifth-year option decision While the quarterback questions loom large, Khan also has a number of other significant roster decisions on the horizon.—
Mike DeFabo,
New York Times,
23 Feb. 2026
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The Connecticut Association of Urban Superintendents, which represents more than 20 urban districts like East Hartford, Meriden, and New Haven, questions the proposals at a time of rising costs.—
Christopher Keating,
Hartford Courant,
22 Feb. 2026
Verb
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This is the question explored in The War Room, which examines Bill Clinton's presidential bid via the proxies of James Carville and George Stephanopoulos, who ran his campaign and engineered its success in an outsized way.—
Eric Farwell,
Entertainment Weekly,
21 Feb. 2026
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Phylogeography is a field that examines how historical events shaped the geographic distribution and genetic diversity of species over time.—
Ryan Brennan,
Miami Herald,
20 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Debriefs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debriefs. Accessed 2 Mar. 2026.
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