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
Models, editors, and movie stars slid into plush banquettes to debrief the evening.
—
Ian Malone, Vogue, 6 May 2025
Christian Walker dressed, dwelled and debriefed there for the first 49 games of his Astros tenure.
—Chandler Rome, New York Times, 25 May 2025
Bobby Moynihan and Bryant play government officials debriefing the three citizens, but a troubling pattern soon emerges in their answers.
—Erin Strecker, IndieWire, 13 Feb. 2025
Boone, who joined the Southern District of New York (SDNY) in 2012, had been on the public corruption beat for approximately a year when he was assigned the task of debriefing Blazer over college sports.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 13 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for debrief
Ian Malone, Vogue, 6 May 2025
Christian Walker dressed, dwelled and debriefed there for the first 49 games of his Astros tenure.
—Chandler Rome, New York Times, 25 May 2025
Bobby Moynihan and Bryant play government officials debriefing the three citizens, but a troubling pattern soon emerges in their answers.
—Erin Strecker, IndieWire, 13 Feb. 2025
Boone, who joined the Southern District of New York (SDNY) in 2012, had been on the public corruption beat for approximately a year when he was assigned the task of debriefing Blazer over college sports.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 13 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for debrief
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debrief
Verb
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The baby boy was found dead in a garbage truck in Greenwich in 1986, and Phillips was initially a person of interest but never arrested or interrogated.—
Joseph Wilkinson,
New York Daily News,
23 July 2025
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After reading the questionnaires, the judge interrogated us.—
Denise Amos,
Mercury News,
17 July 2025
Verb
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The song captures Rumi’s internal struggle and her growing uncertainty about the road ahead, marking a shift in her journey from confident leader to someone questioning the cost of it all.—
Samantha Stutsman,
People.com,
14 July 2025
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Meanwhile, some comments under the original video questioned if the Pentagon had asked Metallica for permission to use the song, with many questioning whether the band would have agreed to do so.—
Peter Aitken,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 July 2025
Verb
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The current playoff format deserves to be thoroughly dissected and examined.—
Jeff Gluck,
New York Times,
2 Aug. 2025
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Lawmakers have dipped into the state's dwindling savings accounts to cover the deficit, said Matt Berman, a University of Alaska Anchorage economics professor who co-authored a 2016 report that examined various deficit-reduction methods.—
Emily Schwing,
NPR,
1 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Debrief.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debrief. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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