brief

英 [briːf] 美[brif]

反义词

adj. 简短的，简洁的；短暂的，草率的
n. 摘要，简报；概要，诉书
vt. 简报，摘要；作…的提要
n. (Brief)人名；(英)布里夫

CET4TEM4考研CET6中高频词基本词汇

词态变化

复数: briefs;第三人称单数: briefs;过去式: briefed;过去分词: briefed;现在分词: briefing;比较级: briefer;最高级: briefest;

中文词源

brief 简短的, 公文汇报

来自词根brev, 短。引申义汇报，介绍情况。

英英释意

1. a document stating the facts and points of law of a client's case

2. a condensed written summary or abstract

英文词源

brief: brief: [14] Brief comes via Old French bref from Latin brevis ‘short’, which is probably related to Greek brakhús ‘short’, from which English gets the combining form brachy-, as in brachycephalic. Latin produced the nominal derivative breve ‘letter’, later ‘summary’, which came into English in the 14th century in the sense ‘letter of authority’ (German has brief simply meaning ‘letter’).

The notion of an ‘abbreviation’ or ‘summary’ followed in the next century, and the modern legal sense ‘summary of the facts of a case’ developed in the 17th century. This formed the basis of the verbal sense ‘inform and instruct’, which is 19th-century. Briefs ‘underpants’ are 20th-century. The musical use of the noun breve began in the 15th century when, logically enough, it meant ‘short note’.

Modern usage, in which it denotes the longest note, comes from Italian breve. Other derivatives of brief include brevity [16], introduced into English via Anglo-Norman brevete; abbreviate [15], from late Latin abbreviāre (which is also the source, via Old French abregier, of abridge [14]); and breviary ‘book of church services’ [16], from Latin breviārium.
=> abbreviate, abridge, brevity
brief (adj.): late 13c., from Latin brevis (adj.) "short, low, little, shallow," from PIE *mregh-wi-, from root *mregh-u- "short" (cognates: Greek brakhys "short," Old Church Slavonic bruzeja "shallow places, shoals," Gothic gamaurgjan "to shorten").
brief (n.): from Latin breve (genitive brevis), noun derivative of adjective brevis (see brief (adj.)) which came to mean "letter, summary," specifically a letter of the pope (less ample and solemn than a bull), and thus came to mean "letter of authority," which yielded the modern, legal sense of "summary of the facts of a case" (1630s).
brief (v.): "to give instructions or information to," 1866; originally "to instruct by a brief" (1862), from brief (n.). Related: Briefed; briefing.

同义词辨析

brief, concise, compact

这些形容词均有"简短的，简洁的"之意。

brief：指语言文学简明扼要，短小精悍，也用于指时间意义很强的短暂的过程。

concise：书面用词，可与brief换用，指语言文学言简意赅，无多余的话。

compact：指为了方便把某物压缩到最小程度，也指紧凑、简洁的文体。

考试真题

She'd wake up early, turn on her laptop and chat on Internet dating sites and instant-messaging programs – leaving her bed for only brief intervals.

Make a brief self-introduction on the phone.

Most Grand Tourists, however, stayed for briefer periods and set out with less scholarly intentions, accompanied by a teacher or guardian, and expected to return home with souvenirs of their travels as well as an understanding of art and architecture formed by exposure to great masterpieces.

Professor Henderson, could you give us a brief overview of what you do, where you work and your main area of research? I have many Business English students.

In one of the study's experiments, subjects were given a brief description of a man from Chicago with the last name Williams.

The client company generallygives the advertising agency an agreed budget, a statement of theobjective of the advertising campaign known as a brief and an overall advertising strategy concerning the message to be communicated to the target customers.

By the 1950s, most schools required a brief personal statement of why the student had chosen to apply to one school over another.

But there is also time for brief diversions onto bizarre ground, such as a discussion of the skyscraper index (which holds that a boom in skyscraper construction is a foolproof sign of an imminent recessio.

When those were finished, she concluded the session with a brief restatement of how the new system would improve security and peace of mind in the municipal building.

But more recently, companies have begun to plan more affordable " suborbital " flights — brief ventures just to the edge of space's vast darkness.

For a brief moment during that stage of its life cycle, the tongue consists of two tiny half-tubes before merging into one.

I'll start with a brief review of the reasons for the change that we really need to make a clean break to restart growth.

Professor Henderson, could you give us a brief overview of what you do, where you work and your main area of research?

Fortunately, after a brief stay in hospital, Ben was well enough to be allowed to leave and later the family met up for dinner.

The professor doesn't remember the comments he or she wrote on your individual piece of work, though he or she will be able to recall them after just a brief glance at your work.

This brief visit with mother nature cost me two days off from work, recovering from a bad case of sunburn and the doctor's bill for my son's food poisoning.

We shared the brief that if you're fortunate enough to have success, you should put something back - he with his newman's own food and his hole in the wall camps for kids who are seriously ill, and me with sundance and the institute and the festival.

Write another email as swiftly as you can and send it with a brief explaining that this is the correct version and the previous version should be ignored.

It could be that we are evolving two communities of social scientists: one that is discipline-oriented and publishing in highly specialized journals, and one that is problem-oriented and publishing elsewhere, such as policy briefs.

The development of the Elizabethan drama for the next twenty-five years is of exceptional interest to students of literary history, for in this brief period we may trace the beginning, growth, blossoming, and decay of many kinds of plays, and of many great careers.

In October the Department of Justice filed a brief in the Myriad case, arguing that an isolated DNA molecule "is no less a product of nature... than are cotton fibres that have been separated from cotton seeds."

Neuroscientist Bonnie Augeung found that the hormone oxytocin increased the amount of eye contact from men toward the interviewer during a brief interview when the direction of their gaze was recorded.

词组搭配

hold a brief for

(Brit.)be retained as counsel for

(英)受聘为…辩护，当…的辩护律师

hold no brief for

not support or argue in favour of

不支持，不为…辩护

I hold no brief for dishonest policemen.
我不为不诚实的警察辩护。

in brief

In short.

简而言之

实用场景例句

I want to see my brief.: 我想见我的律师。

I hold no brief for either side in this war.: 这次战争的双方我都不支持。

The officer briefed her on what to expect.: 长官简要向她说了一下可能遇到的情况。

I expect to be kept fully briefed at all times.: 我希望随时向我报告全面情况。

to prepare/produce a brief for sb: 给某人准备 / 制订指示

to stick to your brief (= to only do what you are asked to do): 仅做分内的事

I was given the brief of reorganizing the department.: 我被分派去改组这个部门。

It wasn't part of his brief to speak to the press.: 交付他的任务不包括向新闻界发言。

In brief, the meeting was a disaster.: 总之，那会议糟透了。

Now the rest of the news in brief.: 现在简要报道其他新闻。

a brief skirt: 超短裙

Please be brief (= say what you want to say quickly) .: 请简明扼要。

a brief description/summary/account: 简明扼要的描述 / 总结 / 叙述

Mozart's life was brief.: 莫扎特的一生很短暂。

a brief pause/silence: 暂时停顿 / 沉默

a brief visit/meeting/conversation: 短时间的访问 / 会议 / 交谈

...and now sport in brief.: 现在播报体育简讯

In brief, take no risks.: 总之，不能冒险。

...customs officials with a brief to stop foreign porn coming into Britain.: 受命阻止国外淫秽出版物流入英国的海关官员

The Prime Minister has been briefed by her parliamentary aides.: 首相已听取了她议会助手的简要汇报。

A Defense Department spokesman briefed reporters...: 一位国防部发言人向记者们简要介绍了情况。

A bra and a pair of briefs lay on the floor.: 地板上有一个胸罩和一条短内裤。

Write a very brief description of a typical problem.: 就一个典型问题作简要的描述。

Now please be brief — my time is valuable...: 请长话短说——我的时间宝贵。

I hope to be brief and to the point.: 我希望简明扼要，抓住重点。

For a few brief minutes we forgot the anxiety and anguish.: 短短几分钟我们就忘记了焦虑与苦恼。

She once made a brief appearance on television...: 她曾经在电视上短暂露面。

This time their visit is brief.: 他们这次的访问时间很短。

In a brief statement, he concentrated entirely on international affairs...: 他作了一个简短的声明，集中阐述了在国际事务方面的立场。

brief

词态变化

中文词源

英英释意

英文词源

同义词辨析

考试真题

词组搭配

hold a brief for

hold no brief for

in brief

实用场景例句

考试词汇

频率词汇

分类词汇

单词首字母

汉语字典查询

词语词性