Adjective

(en adjective)

Of short duration; happening quickly.

* (William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)

How brief the life of man.

*, chapter=10

, title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=It was a joy to snatch some brief respite, and find himself in the rectory drawing–room. Listening here was as pleasant as talking; just to watch was pleasant. The young priests who lived here wore cassocks and birettas; their faces were fine and mild, yet really strong, like the rector's face; and in their intercourse with him and his wife they seemed to be brothers.}}

* {{quote-news, year=2012, date=November 7, author=Matt Bai, title=Winning a Second Term, Obama Will Confront Familiar Headwinds, work=New York Times citation

, passage=That brief moment after the election four years ago, when many Americans thought Mr. Obama’s election would presage a new, less fractious political era, now seems very much a thing of the past. }}

Concise; taking few words.

* (Ben Johnson) (1572-1637)

The brief style is that which expresseth much in little.

*{{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers), title=(A Cuckoo in the Nest)

, chapter=1 citation , passage=She was like a Beardsley Salome , he had said. And indeed she had the narrow eyes and the high cheekbone of that creature, and as nearly the sinuosity as is compatible with human symmetry. His wooing had been brief but incisive.}}

Occupying a small distance, area or spatial extent; short.

* 1983 , Robert Drewe, The Bodysurfers , Penguin 2009, p. 17:

On the beach he always wore a straw hat with a red band and a brief pair of leopard print trunks.

(obsolete) Rife; common; prevalent.

Adjective

(en adjective)

Allowing light to pass through, but diffusing it.

* 1913 , , The Day of Days , ch. 1:

The window-panes, encrusted with perennial deposits of Atmosphere, were less transparent than translucent .

* 1921 , , Jill the Reckless , ch. 21:

On the windows of the nearer buildings the sun cast glittering beams, but further away a faint, translucent mist hid the city.

Clear, lucid, or transparent.

* 1884 , Henry J. Ramsdell, Life and Public Services of Hon. James G. Blaine , Hubbard, pp. 105-106:

Mr. Blaine's powers and disposition shone resplendent. . . . the gavel in his practised hand, chiming in with varied tones that aptly enforced his words, from the sharp rat-tat-tat that recalled the House to decorum, to the vigorous thunder that actually drowned unparliamentary speech; rulings, repartee, translucent explanation flashing from his lips as quick as lighting.

* 1904 , , The Club of Queer Trades , ch. 4:

"I was startled at your not seeing it from the beginning. The man is a translucent liar and knave."

* 1919 , , The Lords of the Wild , ch. 3:

[T]he sun was in its greatest splendor, and the air was absolutely translucent . The lake and the mountains sprang out, sharp and clear.