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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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.
One man was summarily expelled after he posted a shot of Baby Guinness, a coffee-liqueur cocktail that looks like a stout but has no actual beer in it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
They found the case so straightforward that they disposed of it summarily, without full briefing or oral argument.
From Slate ● Apr. 23, 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
And no one in America was prepared to question a decision made by Washington, at least publicly, when rendered so summarily.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
