as in to interrogate
to officially ask (someone) about a job that has been done or about an experience
Police debriefed the hostages upon their return. The pilot was debriefed after his flight.
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Recent Examples of debrief
Bobby Moynihan and Bryant play government officials debriefing the three citizens, but a troubling pattern soon emerges in their answers.
—
Erin Strecker, IndieWire, 13 Feb. 2025
Boone, who joined the Southern District of New York (SDNY) in 2012, had been on the public corruption beat for approximately a year when he was assigned the task of debriefing Blazer over college sports.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 13 Mar. 2025
On the May 4 episode of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Angela debriefs her husband on the dramatic ending to the cast trip to Nashville.
—Liza Esquibias, People.com, 5 May 2025
On a recent night, syndicate veterans debriefed 13 first-timers to learn their situations.
—Benjamin Cunningham Edu Bayer, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for debrief
Erin Strecker, IndieWire, 13 Feb. 2025
Boone, who joined the Southern District of New York (SDNY) in 2012, had been on the public corruption beat for approximately a year when he was assigned the task of debriefing Blazer over college sports.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 13 Mar. 2025
On the May 4 episode of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Angela debriefs her husband on the dramatic ending to the cast trip to Nashville.
—Liza Esquibias, People.com, 5 May 2025
On a recent night, syndicate veterans debriefed 13 first-timers to learn their situations.
—Benjamin Cunningham Edu Bayer, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for debrief
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debrief
Verb
-
Whether through poetry, music, film, or performance, his work defies convention and interrogates systems with rhythmic force and radical clarity.—
Okla Jones,
Essence,
14 July 2025
-
The program is led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and allows police officers to interrogate immigrants in their custody and detain them for potential deportation.—
arkansasonline.com,
arkansasonline.com,
4 July 2025
Verb
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Carlson questioned why Epstein had never been asked about a connection with Barak or Mossad.—
Solcyré Burga,
Time,
14 July 2025
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Some have questioned whether city commissioners can unilaterally change election dates — a decision that also changes the length of their current terms — without voter approval.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
14 July 2025
Verb
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And don’t forget to examine your nails and the bottoms of your feet, Reid says.—
Stacey Colino,
Time,
9 July 2025
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There are two approaches to this: comprehend the historical odds and position yourself ahead of the earnings release, or examine the correlation between immediate and medium-term returns post-earnings and position yourself accordingly after the earnings are announced.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
9 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Debrief.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debrief. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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