2 syllables: brief, ly. Stress on brief.
BREE-flee
/ˈbɹifli/
briefly is pronounced BREE-flee (/ˈbɹifli/). It has two syllables (brief-ly), with the stress on "brief". Briefly means in a short, concise manner or for a short duration. It denotes a brief, rapid description or action, indicating limited time or space. The word is commonly used in speech and writing to transition quickly to the main point or to summarize with minimal detail.
Briefly means in a short, concise manner or for a short duration. It denotes a brief, rapid description or action, indicating limited time or space. The word is commonly used in speech and writing to transition quickly to the main point or to summarize with minimal detail.
- You might flatten the first syllable vowel, making /friː/ too short; ensure the /iː/ is held and clear. - You could run the final /i/ into a quick /i/ or a schwa; aim for a crisp, light /i/ or /ɪ/ depending on accent. - Some speakers blend /bli/ into /bl/ or /bi/; keep the /l/ present and the final vowel distinct. - In fast speech, you may drop the second syllable entirely; practice maintaining both syllables with timing.
"I’ll summarize the meeting briefly before we move on to questions."
"Please tell me briefly what happened, then you can elaborate if needed."
"She spoke briefly and then paused for questions."
Pronunciation: /ˈfriː.bli/ in General American and /ˈfriː.li/ in Received Pronunciation. The primary stress is on the first syllable: /ˈfriː/ with a long /iː/ as in “freeze,” followed by a light /bli/ where the /i/ is quick and the final /i/ resembles a short i or a schwa plus /l/ sound. Mouth: start with a high front tongue position for the /f/ and /r/, then march into a long /iː/ with lips spread, and finish with a light /bli/ where the tongue taps the alveolar ridge for /l/ and the /i/ is reduced. Audio reference: you can compare with a native speaker pronunciation on Forvo or YouGlish to hear the contrast between US/UK accents.
Common mistakes include: 1) Misplacing the stress, producing /ˈfriː.bli/ where the second syllable seems stressed; correct is /ˈfriː.bli/ with primary stress on the first. 2) Not lengthening the /iː/ in the first syllable, making it sound like /friːbli/ with a clipped first vowel. 3) Slurring the /l/ into the /i/ forming /ˈfriːlɪ/; keep a clear /bli/ with a distinct /l/ before the final /i/. Practice with deliberate vowel lengths and consonant separation; use minimal pairs to feel the break: /friː/ vs /fri/ + /bli/.
US: /ˈfriːbli/ with a clear /r/ and a tense, tense-lip /iː/; US tends to rhotacize the /r/. UK: /ˈfriːbli/ with non-rhoticity in many dialects; the /r/ is not pronounced post-vocalically, but in standard RP you still maintain /friː/ onset; final /i/ is short, sometimes /ɪ/ rather than /iː/. AU: similar to UK, often closer to RP with less postvocalic /r/ and a slightly more clipped /ˈfriːbli/. Across accents, the vowel length and the rhoticity of /r/ contribute to perceptual differences, with the main variance being rhotic vs non-rhotic realizations and the subtle vowel quality of the /i/ in the second syllable.
The difficulty lies in balancing a long mono-vowel /iː/ in the first syllable with a rapid, light /bli/ in the second, which demands precise tongue placement: a taut /iː/ followed by a quick alveolar /b/}/l/ sequence and a soft final vowel. The transition between /iː/ and /bli/ requires careful timing to avoid a hiatus or a blended, indistinct ending. Mastery involves controlling lip tension for /iː/, then a crisp /b/ release and a clear /l/ before the final /i/ or schwa.
A unique feature is the strong contrast between the long vowel in the first syllable and the light, brief second syllable. The dip in energy from /friː/ to /bli/ helps convey succinctness. Practically, you should maintain a deliberate, held /iː/ for the first syllable while keeping the second syllable short and sharp, with the /l/ clearly released before the final vowel. This contrast is what listeners associate with the word’s meaning of brevity.
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- US: /ˈfriːbli/ with rhotic r and more rounded lips; keep /iː/ long and the /bli/ brief. - UK: /ˈfriːbli/ with non-rhotic r; the second syllable is lighter and shorter; slight lip rounding on /iː/. - AU: /ˈfriːbli/ often similar to UK, possibly slightly flatter vowels; maintain non-rhoticity and short final vowel quality. IPA references: US /ˈfriːbli/, UK /ˈfriːbli/, AU /ˈfriːbli/.
Briefly derives from the word brief, dating back to Old French bref “short, concise” (from Latin brevis ‘short’). The suffix -ly is a common English adverbial affix forming adverbs from adjectives. The core sense of ‘brief’ shifted in Middle English toward “for a short time or in a short way,” leading to the modern adverb briefly in which the meaning encompasses both limited duration and concise manner. First attested senses emphasize brevity in speech or description, aligning with medieval Latin and Norman influences on English. Over time, briefly broadened to include actions performed quickly or with few words, maintaining the core idea of reduced length or duration. In contemporary usage, briefly almost always implies a compact, efficient delivery or momentary action, and it is frequently used in formal and informal communication alike.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "briefly" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "briefly"
-fly sounds
-ct) sounds
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