summon up
verb
summoned up; summoning up; summons up
: to bring (a memory, feeling, image, etc.) into the mind
Visiting his old house summoned up memories of his childhood.
Examples of summon up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Only the two never lose the ability to summon up their hate.
—
Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 15 Mar. 2026
Moving energetically about Penumbra’s small stage on the sonic foundation of a four-piece band led by Sanford Moore, who’s created fresh arrangements of several of Grant’s songs, the 11-member cast summons up enough electricity to brighten up a city.
—Rob Hubbard, Twin Cities, 14 Mar. 2026
The Huskers took a brief pause from their doldrums to summon up a home win against Minnesota only to revert back to losing, dropping four more in a row.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 13 Mar. 2026
That it can now be summoned up to stream in an instant is something of a miracle.
—Vince Aletti, New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2025
The fact that his performance sometimes summons up that film is no reason to discount it.
—Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor, 27 Feb. 2025
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.
Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 15 Mar. 2026
Moving energetically about Penumbra’s small stage on the sonic foundation of a four-piece band led by Sanford Moore, who’s created fresh arrangements of several of Grant’s songs, the 11-member cast summons up enough electricity to brighten up a city.
—Rob Hubbard, Twin Cities, 14 Mar. 2026
The Huskers took a brief pause from their doldrums to summon up a home win against Minnesota only to revert back to losing, dropping four more in a row.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 13 Mar. 2026
That it can now be summoned up to stream in an instant is something of a miracle.
—Vince Aletti, New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2025
The fact that his performance sometimes summons up that film is no reason to discount it.
—Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor, 27 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Summon up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/summon%20up. Accessed 20 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
