All 8 Uses of
brief
in
Childhood's End
Uses with a very common or rare meaning:
- Stormgren wasted no time after van Ryberg's brief and somewhat strained introductions.†
Chpt 2
- The Secretary-General exchanged a few final words with his assistant, collected his brief-case, and walked through the ring of spectators.†
Chpt 2
- The message was as brief as it was unhelpful.†
Chpt 3 *
- By the way, I suppose you carry a brief-case when you visit the Supervisor?†
Chpt 4
- He dropped the file into his brief-case, the back of which was no more than ten centimetres from the dark rectangle of the screen.†
Chpt 4
- When it came to rest again, there was a brief pause: then Ruth asked, in a puzzled voice: "What does NGS 549672 mean?"†
Chpt 8
- One reflex remained from her brief babyhood, by some unaccountable trick of development.†
Chpt 18
- There was no time for George to answer, but even at that final moment he felt a brief astonishment as he wondered how she knew that the moment had arrived.†
Chpt 21
Definition:
-
(meaning too common or rare to warrant focus) Brief is most commonly encountered as an adjective meaning "of short duration." Other meanings derive from the idea of short--as when making a long story short by summarizing it, or when wearing briefs (underwear).