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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
With Marshall Curry‘s The New Yorker at 100, a magazine famous for its erudition and curation receives a polished, amusing and generally superficial Reader’s Digest summary of a documentary. Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 30 Aug. 2025 The third advantage is that CliffsNotes authors directly cite the text and quote important portions, rather than relying on vague summaries or inaccurate references. Joelle Renstrom august 28, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
Unlike traditional employee income, business income does not always come with summary tax forms like the W2 at the end of the year. Vlad Rusz, Forbes.com, 15 May 2025 Deputy Attorney General Drew Ensign struggled to answer a barrage of Boasberg’s questions during a Thursday hearing in Washington’s federal court, home to a multi-week standoff over President Trump’s executive power to exert summary deportations in the name of national security. David Catanese, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for summary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for summary
Noun
  • For last weekend’s season-opening slate of games, several Texas college football teams sported ribbons of their own, in the form of a special decal on players’ helmets depicting an outline of the state of Texas with a green bow at its center.
    Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Prairie Village’s rules mirror Leawood’s, with similar outlines to age requirements for class 3 e-bikes in particular, yielding and giving audible signals to pedestrians, following manufacturer recommendations and not allowing distracted or reckless operation of the device.
    Taylor O'Connor, Kansas City Star, 8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • McVey, 28, has reaped a personal bonus from the concise coaching: he’s been freed up to develop his game by not having to direct traffic as much.
    Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Aug. 2025
  • Then draft a concise, personalized cover letter highlighting my strongest fit points.
    Caroline Castrillon, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • Schools are also required to monitor reading progress starting in kindergarten, according to a brief on the third grade promotion requirements by the Education Department.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Habba’s case is now on appeal before the 3rd Circuit, with briefs scheduled through October.
    Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 3 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The painting is a mini summa of two key tendencies running through Shahn’s work: self-quotation and cheekiness.
    Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 24 June 2025
  • 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
Noun
  • The Wiretap is your weekly digest of cybersecurity, internet privacy and surveillance news.
    Thomas Brewster, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
  • Breathwork Detox builds on this simplicity by guiding teams through rhythmic breathing patterns designed to trigger the parasympathetic nervous system, often called the body's rest-and-digest mode.
    Matthew Kayser, USA Today, 29 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • That value is ironically and necessarily bound up with independence from government control, even as its realization depends on receiving enormous sums of government money.
    Jeannie Suk Gersen, New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2025
  • Mark Zuckerberg has invested large sums of money into Meta.
    John Tufts, IndyStar, 6 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • According to the report, 37% of the metro’s for-sale listings are new builds — even as existing-home inventory continues to rise.
    Collyn Wainwright, Nashville Tennessean, 4 Sep. 2025
  • By June, most of NBCU’s Super Bowl inventory was gone, according to buyers, though there has been speculation that the company may have kept some ad berths back in hopes of getting $8 million or bigger packages of advertising tied to its larger portfolio of media assets.
    Brian Steinberg, Variety, 3 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Despite the lofty architectural resume, the space is warm and welcoming.
    Jill Robbins, Southern Living, 5 Sep. 2025
  • But over the past five seasons, the number of transfers from ‘the 14’ to ‘the six’ has gone up, culminating in 11 so far in 2025-26, with the possibility of more when trading resumes in January.
    Oliver Kay, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

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

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