briefly

Everyday

1. Briefly means for a short time («I briefly saw her»). tree →
2. Briefly means in a few words, without many details («Tell me briefly what happened»). tree →

In the lessons

In school, «briefly explain» or «describe briefly» in a question means give a short answer with the main points; summaries are brief. In everyday life it describes short moments and short talks. Similar: «quickly», «shortly», «in short». Phrases: «briefly explain», «put briefly», «paused briefly».

Examples

• Briefly explain how a plant makes food. tree →
• The sun came out briefly before the rain started again. tree →
• She paused briefly before answering. tree →
• Tell me briefly what the story is about. tree →
• We stopped briefly at the shop on the way home. tree →
• The lights went out briefly during the storm. tree →
• Put briefly, we lost because we didn't practise. tree →
• He spoke briefly to the class about safety. tree →
• One of the strange rules which the Spartans had, was that they should speak briefly, and never use more words than were needed. tree →

Note

From «brief» (short) + «-ly». Trap: «briefly» is about short time or few words; it does not mean «quickly done badly». In a test, «briefly» means one or two sentences, not a long essay.