All 8 Uses of
brief
in
Harry Potter (#5) and the Order of the Phoenix
Uses with a very common or rare meaning:
- He caught a brief glimpse of a gloomy high-ceilinged, twin-bedded room; then there was a loud twittering noise, followed by an even louder shriek, and his vision was completely obscured by a large quantity of very bushy hair.†
Chpt 4
- The doorbell rang several times a day, which was the cue for Sirius's mother to start shrieking again, and for Harry and the others to attempt to eavesdrop on the visitor, though they gleaned very little from the brief glimpses and snatches of conversation they were able to sneak before Mrs Weasley recalled them to their tasks.†
Chpt 6
- For one brief moment, the great black dog reared on to its hind legs and placed its front paws on Harry's shoulders, but Mrs Weasley shoved Harry away towards the train door, hissing, 'For heaven's sake, act more like a dog, Sirius!†
Chpt 10
- There was a brief moment when Ron tried to keep running, arms working madly like windmills, then he toppled over backwards and shot down the newly created slide, coming to rest on his back at Harry's feet.†
Chpt 17
- 'Right — yeah,' said Harry distractedly; it was his last chance to tell Sirius to be careful; he turned, looked into his godfather's face :. and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could do so Sirius ij il was giving him a brief, one-armed hug, and saying gruffly, 'Look after yourself, Harry.'†
Chpt 24
- In the past decade, the indications have been that wizardkind is living through nothing more than a brief calm between two wars.†
Chpt 27
- — CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT The Second War Begins HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED RETURNS 'In a brief statement on Friday night, Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge confirmed that He Who Must Not Be Named has returned to this country and is once more active.†
Chpt 38
- Ernie had never quite got over the indignity of Malloy docking points from Hufflepuff during his brief spell as a member of the Inquisitorial Squad.†
Chpt 38 *
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).