summary

American  

[suhm-uh-ree] / ˈsʌm ə ri /

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 British  

/ 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

Related Words

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.

Other Word Forms

• summarily adverb
• summariness noun

Etymology

Origin of summary

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

Example Sentences

Here is a summary showing how each company’s sales for the first three quarters of their current fiscal years have increased from the year-earlier periods, and how their profit margins changed:

From MarketWatch

Americans can hope so after the agency on Wednesday walked back Dr. Prasad’s startling summary refusal last week to review Moderna’s new flu vaccine.

From The Wall Street Journal

That trial — another bellwether involving a suit by Breathitt County School District in Kentucky — is now set to begin in San Francisco in June, after the judge denied companies’ motion for summary judgment.

From Los Angeles Times

The documents don’t make clear who prepared the summary or for what purpose.

From The Wall Street Journal

Spotify has over 750 million users, comprised of paying and non-paying subscribers, who each get a curated summary of their listening habits at the year-end.

From BBC

Related Words

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