summarily
Americanadverb
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in a prompt or direct manner; immediately; straightaway.
-
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
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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.
James made it to the Finals with Cleveland that season, but was summarily swept by San Antonio.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 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
Leqaa Kordia, 32, was summarily renditioned from Newark to the overcrowded Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, where she is still being held today.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 3, 2025
Eventually, like Peterson, the KGB declared Stombaugh PNG and summarily ejected him from the Soviet Union.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
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.
