1
a
: in a brief way
briefly mentioned
b
: in brief
the food, briefly, was awful
2
: for a short time
briefly married
Examples of briefly in a Sentence
Several important issues are only briefly mentioned.
Please briefly describe your experience.
We briefly considered canceling the trip.
Recent Examples on the Web
Thanks to their alliance, Musk briefly achieved powers that few unelected Americans have ever possessed.
—
Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 28 July 2025
The fracas got a little more heated, just briefly, than the one on Friday.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 July 2025
The family briefly lived with an aunt before renting a town house in West Covina, which reminded Adriana of the town from Back to the Future.
—Mickey Rapkin, HollywoodReporter, 28 July 2025
In Deri’s view, the Hamas attack was a day when God forsook Israel briefly, only to gather it back with greater compassion.
—David Remnick, New Yorker, 28 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for briefly
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Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 28 July 2025
The fracas got a little more heated, just briefly, than the one on Friday.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 July 2025
The family briefly lived with an aunt before renting a town house in West Covina, which reminded Adriana of the town from Back to the Future.
—Mickey Rapkin, HollywoodReporter, 28 July 2025
In Deri’s view, the Hamas attack was a day when God forsook Israel briefly, only to gather it back with greater compassion.
—David Remnick, New Yorker, 28 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for briefly
Cite this Entry
“Briefly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/briefly. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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