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
Roseman will debrief the draft process.
—
Zach Berman,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
Fox said Williams was debriefed in September 2015 and signed a nondisclosure agreement.
—
Allen G. Breed,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Apr. 2026
Shortly thereafter, Dowd found herself inside the FBI’s resident agency in Brevard County, where she was debriefed by a special agent.
—
Adam Ciralsky,
Vanity Fair,
19 Mar. 2026
Chapman, who worked long hours debriefing Marquez over the years and shepherded his grand jury testimony, grew emotional while talking about Marquez’s qualities as a wonky engineer who could talk endlessly about the inner workings of the ComEd’s electrical grid.
—
Jason Meisner,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for debrief
Zach Berman,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
Fox said Williams was debriefed in September 2015 and signed a nondisclosure agreement.
—
Allen G. Breed,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Apr. 2026
Shortly thereafter, Dowd found herself inside the FBI’s resident agency in Brevard County, where she was debriefed by a special agent.
—
Adam Ciralsky,
Vanity Fair,
19 Mar. 2026
Chapman, who worked long hours debriefing Marquez over the years and shepherded his grand jury testimony, grew emotional while talking about Marquez’s qualities as a wonky engineer who could talk endlessly about the inner workings of the ComEd’s electrical grid.
—
Jason Meisner,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for debrief
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debrief
Verb
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The Average Problem Dines has been running his own experiments with frontier models, asking them to write in distinct styles and then interrogating them about why the output comes back bland.
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Her new album, Fata Morgana, uses an array of cascading rhythms, impish hooks, and fierce poetry to interrogate her place in a corrupt American society.
Verb
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Photos of Haaland on the tarmac posted to social media were riddled with homophobia and comments questioning the striker’s masculinity.
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Maps published by the Israeli government show the pilot zones encompassing the villages of Froun, Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh and Ghandouriyeh, but commentators question their value, noting Israel does not have a significant presence in those villages.
Verb
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Link to earlier discovery The new findings come less than a year after Perseverance examined a rock called Cheyava Falls, which scientists described as one of the most intriguing samples collected on Mars.
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Take a couple of minutes to examine one testicle at a time.
Cite this Entry
“Debrief.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debrief. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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