English-French translations for brief

• bref
  Je vais vous demander d' être brefs et moi aussi je serai bref. I am going to ask you to be brief and I am going to be brief.
  Monsieur le Président, je serai bref. Mr President, I will be brief.
  Monsieur le Président, je vais être bref. Mr President, I shall be brief.
• aider
  Avec des cours d' apprentissage rapide des langues, il devrait être possible d' aider les millions de chômeurs allemands à, par exemple, trouver un emploi aux Pays-Bas. Surely it should be possible, with the help of brief language courses, to help the millions of unemployed in Germany to find jobs in the Netherlands, for example.
• briefer
• cahier des charges
• cause
  L'analyse très sommaire que je viens de vous donner montre que le déficit de qualifications est une des principales causes du fléau. The very brief analysis that I have just given shows that lack of qualifications is a major cause of this scourge.
  Je souhaitais simplement émettre un commentaire qui ne concerne ou ne met pas en cause la Présidente en particulier, et je serai bref. I just have one comment, which does not concern or affect the President specifically and I shall be brief.
  Le 19 mars 1958, Robert Schuman, dans son bref discours, a exprimé son inquiétude de voir la prédominance technocratique causer le flétrissement de l'intégration européenne. On 19 March 1958 Robert Schuman, in his brief address, expressed his concern that a technocratic view of matters could cause European integration to wither away.
• concis
  En tant que président en exercice du Conseil, je peux d'entrée de jeu être très concis. As President-in-Office of the Council, I can be very brief to start with.
  Il est difficile d'être concis, du fait qu'il s'agit d'une matière compliquée et cruciale. It is difficult to be brief as this is a complicated and important subject.
• consigne
  De qui M. Ajello reçoit-il ses consignes et à qui doit-il faire rapport? Who gives him his brief and to whom will he deliver his report?
• court
  Ma réponse concernant le premier amendement sera très courte. My reaction to Amendment No 1 is very brief.
  Je suis, pour ma part, un adepte des textes courts. Personally, I am all in favour of brief texts.
  S' agissant des comités et des agences, je peux me permettre d' être court. I can be brief about the committees and agencies.
• instruire
• mandat
  Par conséquent, le mandat de la Convention est clair: il doit mieux préciser qui fait quoi dans l'Union européenne. So the Convention's brief is clear: it must define more clearly who does what in the European Union.
  Autrement dit, par la force des choses, le dialogue de la Commission a des limites objectives posées par le mandat de négociation. In other words, circumstances dictate that the Commission's discussions are limited in an objective manner by the nature of the negotiating brief.
• mener

Definition of brief

• Of short duration; happening quickly.
• Concise; taking few words.
• Occupying a small distance, area or spatial extent; short.
• Rife; common; prevalent
• A writ summoning one to answer to any action.
• A memorandum of points of fact or of law for use in conducting a case
• An attorney's legal argument in written form for submission to a court
• A short news story or report
• undershorts briefs
• A summary, précis or epitome; an abridgement or abstract
• A letter patent, from proper authority, authorizing a collection or charitable contribution of money in churches, for any public or private purpose
• To summarize a recent development to some person with decision-making power
• To write a legal argument and submit it to a court
• Briefly
• Soon; quickly

Examples

• Her reign was brief but spectacular
• His speech of acceptance was brief but moving
• Her skirt was extremely brief but doubtless cool
• We got a news brief.
• I wear boxers under trousers but for sports I usually wear a brief
• The U.S. president was briefed on the military coup and its implications on African stability.

Related words

• briefly
• briefs
• briefing
• debrief
• debriefing
• briefcase
• briefness
• brief lecture
• briefly speaking