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# briefly

«briefly» in Mova's school dictionary: **for a short time («I briefly saw her»)** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 4 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adverb

### meaning for a pupil

1) Briefly means for a short time («I briefly saw her»). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/briefly/#m1)

2) Briefly means in a few words, without many details («Tell me briefly what happened»). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/briefly/#m2)

### sense 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 →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/briefly/#x1)
- The sun came out briefly before the rain started again. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/briefly/#x2)
- She paused briefly before answering. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/briefly/#x3)
- Tell me briefly what the story is about. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/briefly/#x4)
- We stopped briefly at the shop on the way home. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/briefly/#x5)
- The lights went out briefly during the storm. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/briefly/#x6)
- Put briefly, we lost because we didn't practise. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/briefly/#x7)
- He spoke briefly to the class about safety. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/briefly/#x8)
- One of the strange rules which the Spartans had, was that they should speak briefly, and never use more words than were needed. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/briefly/#x9)

### 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.

### In the corpora

- [It was reported that fake AI pictures of an explosion near a famous building spread online and briefly worried people.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/ai/22-news-jobs-art-safety/9/)
- [Squinting briefly makes the view sharper and does not damage eyes; needing to squint is a sign to get an eye test.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/myths/3-eyes-and-ears/16/)
- [Each team member presents part of the argument clearly and briefly.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/50-mock-ethics-olympiad/10/)
- [Laughing at someone for a long time makes them scared to try; laugh briefly with them, then help.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/190-saying-i-was-wrong-and-laughing-without-being-cruel/23/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «briefly» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/briefly/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.