briefly

adv

Etymology: From Middle English breefly, breffly, brevely, brevelike, breveliche, equivalent to brief + -ly.

1. In a brief manner, summarily.

   “He covered the subject briefly in his book.”

2. For a brief period.

   “He only worked here briefly.”

   “Instead, ddakji was played for dramatic effect earlier in the season — pitting two men who had forged a sweet bond against each other, making one of them briefly believe he’d been eliminated by his friend.”

3. To be brief, in short.

   “Briefly, I am not happy about what happened, but no one will be losing their job.”