adjective

of short duration; not lasting for long.

the president made a brief working visit to Moscow

short,flying,fleeting,hasty,hurried,quick,cursory,perfunctory,temporary,short-lived,momentary,passing,transient,transitory,impermanent,fading,ephemeral,evanescent,fugitive,quickie,fugacious

noun

a set of instructions given to a person about a job or task.

his brief is to turn round the county’s fortunes

instructions,directions,directives,briefing,information,guidelines,guidance,remit,mandate,rundown,low-down,gen

verb

instruct or inform (someone) thoroughly, especially in preparation for a task.

she briefed him on last week’s decisions

inform of,tell about,bring up to date on,update on,notify of,advise of,acquaint with,apprise of,give information about,prepare,prime,instruct,direct,guide,give the rundown on,fill in on,put in the picture about,clue in on,clue up about,keep up to speed with,gen up on,give the gen on