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summary

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adjective

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective summary contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of summary are compendious, concise, laconic, pithy, succinct, and terse. While all these words mean "very brief in statement or expression," summary suggests the statement of main points with no elaboration or explanation.

a summary listing of the year's main events

When would compendious be a good substitute for summary?

The words compendious and summary are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, compendious applies to what is at once full in scope and brief and concise in treatment.

a compendious dictionary

When is concise a more appropriate choice than summary?

In some situations, the words concise and summary are roughly equivalent. However, concise suggests the removal of all that is superfluous or elaborative.

a concise description

When is it sensible to use laconic instead of summary?

While in some cases nearly identical to summary, laconic implies brevity to the point of seeming rude, indifferent, or mysterious.

an aloof and laconic stranger

How does the word pithy relate to other synonyms for summary?

Pithy adds to succinct or terse the implication of richness of meaning or substance.

a comedy sharpened by pithy one-liners

When might succinct be a better fit than summary?

The meanings of succinct and summary largely overlap; however, succinct implies the greatest possible compression.

a succinct letter of resignation

When can terse be used instead of summary?

The words terse and summary can be used in similar contexts, but terse implies pointed conciseness.

a terse reply

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of summary
Noun
An internal poll conducted by the Democratic Governors’ Association found Healey had a 59% job approval rating, according to a summary of the survey provided to the Herald. Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald, 31 May 2025 But some insiders say that rosy summary of removing humans from the risk assessment process greatly downplays the problems the changes could cause. Shannon Bond, NPR, 31 May 2025
Adjective
He is accused of acting as the de facto leader of the Davao Death Squad, a group that was responsible for summary executions and the murder or disappearance of more than 1,000 people in and around the city. Lisandro Claudio, The Conversation, 12 Mar. 2025 Organized labor wanted to institute procedural reforms to ensure that officers were given opportunities to correct bad behavior before being let go—no more summary firings. Marc J. Dunkelman, TIME, 27 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for summary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for summary
Noun
  • In 2019, then-Senate Banking Chair Mike Crapo, an Idaho Republican, released a three-page outline that would turn the institutions into private guarantors with a limited share of the mortgage market.
    Joseph Zeballos-Roig, Quartz, 28 May 2025
  • The outline of the initial report — a contract extension for Crow-Armstrong potentially worth around $75 million — has been characterized as inaccurate.
    Patrick Mooney, New York Times, 28 May 2025
Adjective
  • The Look and Sound of Leadership Each episode delivers concise, ready-to-use strategies for communicating with confidence, managing teams and leading through change.
    Caroline Castrillon, Forbes.com, 5 June 2025
  • There is no shortage of lengthy and confusing timelines of Swift’s battle to own those albums on the Internet, but below is a concise history.
    Jem Aswad, Variety, 30 May 2025
Noun
  • In a concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas cited America First Legal’s brief.
    Jessica Guynn, USA Today, 6 June 2025
  • Dozens of amici curiae briefs were filed before the decision.
    Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 5 June 2025
Noun
  • Rabelais points out that there are oddities in the world that cannot fit into any classification scheme, more things in our heaven and earth than are dreamt of in either the medieval pretensions of the summa or the ambitious early modern bibliographic machines.
    Brendan Fitzgerald, Longreads, 27 Dec. 2024
  • The stage was set for the Fourth, whose five movements add up to a summa of Bartók’s art, by turns tenaciously labored, sinuously swirling, nocturnally eerie, pizzicato-punchy, and flat-out wild.
    Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024
Noun
  • Now read the latest Pixel 10 Pro, Samsung S25, and smartphone headlines in Forbes' weekly Android Circuit news digest...
    Ewan Spence, Forbes.com, 31 May 2025
  • Now read the latest Pixel 10 Pro, Samsung Galaxy, and Android headlines in Forbes' weekly smartphone news digest...
    Ewan Spence, Forbes.com, 22 May 2025
Noun
  • Of that sum, vinyl purchases comprise 4,000 – a personal best sales week for Jonas as a soloist on vinyl.
    Keith Caulfield, Billboard, 5 June 2025
  • The sum was, at the time, a record for a rights issue by a European company and followed the U.K. bank's calamitous acquisition, the previous autumn, of the Dutch lender ABN AMRO.
    Ian King, CNBC, 4 June 2025
Noun
  • Following the Saks Global merger, brands began reporting extended payment terms and vendors are now paid 90 days after inventory delivery, with past-due balances pushed to a deferred repayment schedule beginning July 2025.
    Adam Ayers, Forbes.com, 3 June 2025
  • Notably, the factories' finished goods inventory accumulated for the first time in four months due to falling sales and delays in outbound shipments, the survey showed.
    Anniek Bao, CNBC, 3 June 2025
Noun
  • Caminero, Misner and several others, including Lowe, shortstop Taylor Walls and Jose Caballero, who has expanded his resume this season, have contributed to the aforementioned fielding percentage.
    Tom Layberger, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025
  • That, paired with his resume, could be enough for the Marlins to get a decent return despite his struggles.
    Aaliyan Mohammed, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Summary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/summary. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.

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