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lasting only a short time; short 短时间的;短暂的 a brief visit/meeting/conversation 短时间的访问/会议/交谈 Mozart's life was brief. 莫扎特的一生很短暂。 He said nothing during the brief court appearance. 在短暂的出庭期间,他什么也没说。 a brief pause/silence 暂时停顿/沉默 Susan and Mary were enjoying a brief moment of solitude. 苏珊和玛丽正在享受短暂的独处时光。 He died after a relatively brief period of suffering. 他在相对短暂的痛苦之后死去。
Extra ExamplesCould you make it brief? I've got a meeting in ten minutes. 你能简短点吗?十分钟后我有个会。 The wait was mercifully brief, little more than an hour. 幸好等待的时间很短,不过一个小时多一点儿。 Sean gave a brief glance at the screen. 肖恩朝屏幕瞥了一眼。 The prime minister is due to make a brief visit to South Korea. 总理预定去韩国作短期访问。 There was a brief silence after I made my announcement. 我发布完公告之后,出现了短暂的沉默。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- keep something
- make something
- …
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
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using few words 简洁的;简单的 a brief description/summary/overview 简要描述/总结/概述 Please be brief (= say what you want to say quickly). 请简明扼要。 I will keep my comments brief. 我的评论会很简短。 Section 1 of the book gives a brief history of Mexico. 这本书的第一部分简要介绍了墨西哥的历史。 I made a brief introductory statement and our meeting began. 我做了简短的介绍性发言,我们的会议开始了。
Extra ExamplesI promised to be brief. 我保证会长话短说。 The diary entries were tantalizingly brief. 条条日记都很简短,激起了人们的好奇。 This necessarily brief account concentrates on two main areas. 这个不得不简短的报道集中描述了两个主要领域。 David gave me a brief summary of what was said at the meeting. 大卫给了我一份会上发言的简要总结。 He began with a brief introduction. 他以简短的开场白开始。 Saunders's lawyer made a brief statement to the press outside the court. 桑德斯的律师在法庭外向新闻界发表了简短声明。 The author makes only a brief mention of the role of Japan in this period. 作者提到日本在这一时期的角色时只是简略带过。 The leaflet provides a brief description of the changes to the benefits system. 传单简要介绍了福利制度的变化。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- keep something
- make something
- …
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
(of clothes )衣服 short and not covering much of the body 过短的;暴露身体的 a brief skirt 超短裙
see also brevity, briefly
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French brief, from Latin brevis ‘short’. The noun is via late Latin breve ‘note, dispatch’, hence ‘an official letter’.