summation

[ suh-mey-shuh n ]

/ səˈmeɪ ʃən /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR summation ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the act or process of summing.

the result of this; an aggregate or total.

a review or recapitulation of previously stated facts or statements, often with a final conclusion or conclusions drawn from them.

Law. the final arguments of opposing attorneys before a case goes to the jury.

Physiology. the arousal of impulses by a rapid succession of stimuli, carried either by separate sensory neurons (spatial summation) or by the same sensory neuron (temporal summation).

RELATED WORDS

addition, aggregate, sum

Nearby words

summary judgment, summary offence, summary proceeding, summat, summate, summation, summation gallop, summation method, summative, summative assessment, summer

Origin of summation

1750–60; < Medieval Latin summātiōn- (stem of summātiō), equivalent to summāt(us) (past participle of summāre to sum; see -ate¹) + -iōn- -ion

Related forms

sum·ma·tion·al, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for summation

Per Kundera, tweets and blogs translate every link, adding ideology in the guise of summation.
John Mayer's Terrible Week|Rob Tannenbaum|February 12, 2010|DAILY BEAST
“She is not Amanda the Ripper,” Bongiorno told the jury in her summation.
Amanda Knox's Last Chance|Barbie Latza Nadeau|November 30, 2009|DAILY BEAST
"3 words... Los Angeles Lifetime," suggested Tim Smith, a New York artists' studio manager, in a summation of the season.
Five Gays on Project Runway's Demise|Choire Sicha|November 17, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Every individual miracle remains historically quite doubtful, and a summation of things doubtful never leads to certainty.
History of Dogma, Volume 1 (of 7)|Adolph Harnack

They are not one coherent System of Thought; but properly the summation of several successive systems.
Sartor Resartus, and On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History|Thomas Carlyle
I shouldn't have cared a copper for the misrepresentation were it not a "summation of stimuli" affair.
The Letters of William James, Vol. II|William James
For a radical empiricism, knowledge would consist of descriptive generalizations based upon the summation of instances.
The Approach to Philosophy|Ralph Barton Perry
He also seems to agree with your summation of the Islamic problem.
Black Man's Burden|Dallas McCord Reynolds

British Dictionary definitions for summation

summation

/ (sʌˈmeɪʃən) /

noun

the act or process of determining a sum; addition

the result of such an act or process

a summary

US law the concluding statements made by opposing counsel in a case before a court

Derived Forms

summational, adjectivesummative, adjective

Word Origin for summation

C18: from Medieval Latin summātiō, from summāre to total, from Latin summa sum 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for summation

summation

[ sə-mā′shən ]

n.

The process by which multiple or repeated stimuli can produce a response in a nerve, muscle, or other part that one stimulus alone cannot produce.