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summarily

C2
Uncommon

Pronunciation

UK

  • /sʌmˈɛrəli/

US

  • /səˈmɛrɪli/

Meanings

Adverb

  1. briefly or in summary form

  2. immediately and without the usual formal steps

Beyond the definition

Imagine a king making a decision on the spot, with no long debate and no extra ceremony. That is one common use of "summarily": something is done quickly, firmly, and often a bit abruptly. You might be summarily removed from a meeting for causing trouble, or a judge might summarily reject a weak argument. But the word also has another use. Sometimes it means something is said or presented briefly, without many details. So "summarily" can point either to swift action or to a short, simple way of speaking.

Examples

  1. 1

    Workplace discipline

    The employee was summarily fired after the cash went missing.

  2. 2

    Complaint handling

    Her complaint was summarily dismissed without any investigation.

  3. 3

    Site safety

    Anyone who breaks the safety rules will be summarily removed from the site.

  4. 4

    Legal appeal

    The judge summarily rejected the appeal because it raised no new issues.

More examples
  1. 5

    Brief coverage

    The report mentions the early years only summarily before turning to the recent data.

    • Patternspeak of + topic summarily

      deal with it only briefly, without much detail

See also

Similar

Shades of meaning

  • out of hand
  • on the spot
  • without ceremony

Contrast

Used with (collocations)

  • summarily dismissed
  • summarily rejected
  • summarily executed

Word family

Explore

  • due process
  • summary judgment

Forms and spellings

1 form open this card.

Main spelling

  • summarilyadverb