summarily
Americanadverb
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in a prompt or direct manner; immediately; straightaway.
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without notice; precipitately.
to be dismissed summarily from one's job.
Etymology
Origin of summarily
Explanation
Whenever you do something summarily, you act without hesitating or even taking time to explain yourself. A strict babysitter might announce, "Bedtime!" and summarily flip off the lights and close the bedroom door. The adverb summarily describes things that are done in an abrupt, brief way, without any extra details. It's kind to explain to a job applicant why you're not hiring them, rather than summarily saying, "There's the door, goodbye." A related word is summary, meaning "brief," or "containing just the sum or substance." The Latin root, summa, means "whole or gist."
Vocabulary lists containing summarily
Ella Minnow Pea
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Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Then, in April, the court said: Now that we have the full case before us, we’re going to summarily reverse the district court for the reasons set forth in our five-paragraph scribble from December.
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026
Most arresting, though, are the four playground designs, two of which were summarily vetoed by Moses and all of which radically departed from convention.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
At one point last year, Miller was floated as a potential White House national security adviser, replacing the ousted Michael Waltz - rumours that the president summarily dismissed.
From BBC ● Feb. 8, 2026
In the private marketplace of ideas, he argued, an employee can be summarily fired if the boss doesn’t like it.
From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2025
His lawyers objected, but the judge summarily dismissed their complaints.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
