Warn vs Brief - What's the difference?
warn | brief | Related terms |
To make (someone) aware of impending danger etc.
To caution (someone) against unwise or unacceptable behaviour.
To notify (someone) of something untoward.
To give warning.
* 1526 , William Tyndale, tr. Bible , Galatians II, 9-10:
* 1973 , Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow , Penguin 1995, p. 177:
* 1988 , Salman Rushdie, The Satanic Verses , Picador 2000, p. 496:
* 1991 , Clive James, ‘Making Programmes the World Wants’, The Dreaming Swimmer , Jonathan Cape 1992:
(label) To refuse, deny (someone something).
*:
*:And yf thou warne' her loue she shalle goo dye anone yf thou haue no pyte on her / that sygnefyeth the grete byrd / the whiche shalle make the to ' warne her
Of short duration; happening quickly.
* (William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
*, chapter=10
, title= * {{quote-news, year=2012, date=November 7, author=Matt Bai, title=Winning a Second Term, Obama Will Confront Familiar Headwinds, work=New York Times
, 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)
*{{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers), title=(A Cuckoo in the Nest)
, chapter=1 Occupying a small distance, area or spatial extent; short.
* 1983 , Robert Drewe, The Bodysurfers , Penguin 2009, p. 17:
(obsolete) Rife; common; prevalent.
(legal) A writ summoning one to answer to any action.
(legal) An answer to any action.
* 1996 The Japanese Rule of Civil Procedure, Article 79 (1):
(legal) A memorandum of points of fact or of law for use in conducting a case.
(legal) An attorney's legal argument in written form for submission to a court.
(English law) The material relevant to a case, delivered by a solicitor to the barrister who tries the case.
(informal) A short news story or report.
* We got a news brief .
* Shakespeare
(obsolete) A summary, or epitome; an abridgement or abstract.
* 1589 Thomas Nashe, The Anatomie of Absurditie 5:
* Overbury
(UK, historical) 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.
(legal) To write a legal argument and submit it to a court.
(obsolete, poetic) Briefly.
* Milton
(obsolete, poetic) Soon; quickly.
Warn is a related term of brief.
As a verb warn
is to make (someone) aware of impending danger etc or warn can be (label) to refuse, deny (someone something).As a noun brief is
letter (written message).warn
English
Etymology 1
(etyl) warnian, from (etyl) . Cognate with German warnen, Dutch waarnen.Verb
(en verb)- We waved a flag to warn the oncoming traffic.
- He was warned against crossing the railway tracks at night.
- Don't let me catch you running in the corridor again, I warn you.
- I phoned to warn him of the rail strike.
- then Iames Cephas and Iohn [...] agreed with vs that we shuld preache amonge the Hethen and they amonge the Iewes: warnynge only that we shulde remember the poore.
- She is his deepest innocence in spaces of bough and hay before wishes were given a different name to warn that they might not come true [...].
- She warned that he was seriously thinking of withdrawing his offer to part the waters, ‘so that all you'll get at the Arabian Sea is a saltwater bath [...]’.
- Every country has its resident experts who warn that imported television will destroy the national consciousness and replace it with Dallas'', ''The Waltons'', ''Star Trek'' and ''Twin Peaks .
Usage notes
* The intransitive sense is considered colloquial by some, and is explicitly proscribed by, for example, the Daily Telegraph style guide (which prefers give warning).Derived terms
* warner * warning * warn offEtymology 2
From a combination of (etyl) wiernan (from (etyl) ; compare Swedish varna).Verb
(en verb)Anagrams
* English reporting verbsbrief
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- How brief the life of man.
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.}}
citation
- The brief style is that which expresseth much in little.
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.}}
- On the beach he always wore a straw hat with a red band and a brief pair of leopard print trunks.
Synonyms
* See also * See alsoDerived terms
* brieflyNoun
(en noun)- A written answer or any other brief shall be submitted to the court while allowing a period necessary for the opponent to make preparations with regard to the matters stated therein.
- Bear this sealed brief , / With winged haste, to the lord marshal.
- A survey of their follie, a briefe of their barbarisme.
- Each woman is a brief of womankind.
Derived terms
* briefs * control briefReferences
*Verb
(en verb)- The U.S. president was briefed on the military coup and its implications on African stability.
Derived terms
* briefing * brevityAdverb
(en adverb)- Adam, faltering long, thus answered brief .
- (Shakespeare)