summary

[suhm-uh-ree]

noun

plural

summaries 

1. a comprehensive and usually brief abstract, recapitulation, or compendium of previously stated facts or statements.

   Synonyms: précis, outline

adjective

1. brief and comprehensive; concise.

   Synonyms: succinct, compact, condensed, short

2. direct and prompt; unceremoniously fast.

   to treat someone with summary dispatch.

   Synonyms: brusque, terse, curt

3. (of legal proceedings, jurisdiction, etc.) conducted without, or exempt from, the various steps and delays of a formal trial.

summary

/ ˈsʌmərɪ /

noun

1. a brief account giving the main points of something

adjective

1. performed arbitrarily and quickly, without formality

   a summary execution

2. (of legal proceedings) short and free from the complexities and delays of a full trial

3. the right a court has to adjudicate immediately upon some matter arising during its proceedings

4. giving the gist or essence

Other Word Forms

• summariness noun
• summarily adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of summary¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin summārium, equivalent to summ(a) “sum” + -ārium noun suffix; sum, -ary

Word History and Origins

Origin of summary¹

C15: from Latin summārium, from summa _sum ¹

Synonym Study

Summary, brief, digest, synopsis are terms for a short version of a longer work. A summary is a brief statement or restatement of main points, especially as a conclusion to a work: a summary of a chapter. A brief is a detailed outline, by heads and subheads, of a discourse (usually legal) to be completed: a brief for an argument. A digest is an abridgment of an article, book, etc., or an organized arrangement of material under heads and titles: a digest of a popular novel; a digest of Roman law. A synopsis is usually a compressed statement of the plot of a novel, play, etc.: a synopsis of Hamlet.

Example Sentences

This is my own summary list, but it overlaps considerably with the characteristics of fascism described by Umberto Eco in an essay written 30 years ago.

Read more on Salon

Why settle for a vague secondhand summary when the tapes themselves are readily available?

Read more on Salon

The Children's Commissioner for Wales Rocio Cifuentes says there were instances where independent reviews had been commissioned by local authorities, with a summary rather than the full report.

Read more on BBC

This chimes with other accounts of how men and boys are especially at risk as they face arbitrary arrest, violence and summary execution.

Read more on BBC

Next, yet another language model can scan those summaries.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• analysis 
• essence 
• outline 
• prospectus 
• recap 
• rehash 
• review 
• rundown 
• sketch 
• survey 
• synopsis 
• version