Home Synonyms brief

Synonyms of brief in English:

brief


See US English definition of brief

See UK English definition of brief

See Spanish definition of breve

adjective

1‘a brief account of what had happened’

SYNONYMS
concise, succinct, short, thumbnail, to the point, pithy, incisive, short and sweet, crisp, abridged, condensed, compressed, abbreviated, compact, compendious, potted
epigrammatic, aphoristic
laconic, sparing, terse, pointed, curt, clipped, monosyllabic
ANTONYMS

lengthy, long-winded

2‘a brief visit’

SYNONYMS
short, flying, fleeting, hasty, hurried, quick, cursory, perfunctory
temporary, short-lived, momentary, passing, transient, transitory, impermanent, fading, ephemeral, evanescent, fugitive
informal quickie
rare fugacious
ANTONYMS

long

3‘a pair of extremely brief black shorts’

SYNONYMS
skimpy, scanty, revealing, short
low-cut

4‘the boss was rather brief with him’

SYNONYMS
brusque, abrupt, curt, short, blunt, sharp

noun

1‘Kirov had received only a vague brief about his current project’

SYNONYMS
instructions, directions, directives, briefing
information, guidelines, guidance
remit, mandate
informal rundown, low-down
British informal gen

2‘a barrister's brief’

SYNONYMS
summary of the facts, case, argument, contention
dossier

3‘it was only his brief's eloquence that saved him from prison’

SYNONYMS
lawyer, legal representative, solicitor, barrister, counsel, Queen's Counsel, QC, defending counsel
advocate
North American attorney
North American, Irish counsellor-at-law

4‘supply them with a brief of our requirements’

SYNONYMS
outline, summary, synopsis, abstract, résumé, precis, sketch, abridgement, digest

verb

1‘council employees were briefed about the decision’

SYNONYMS
inform of, tell about, bring up to date on, update on, notify of, advise of, acquaint with, apprise of, give information about
prepare, prime, instruct, direct, guide
informal give the rundown on, fill in on, put in the picture about, clue in on, clue up about, keep up to speed with
British informal gen up on, give the gen on