summary 1 of 2

summary

2 of 2

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
In testing, the scan took next to no time before displaying a summary of its findings, well over a hundred of them. PC Magazine, 20 July 2025 The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in the Miami Herald newsroom. Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 19 July 2025
Adjective
Ukraine is investigating more than 150,000 possible war crimes committed by Russia, including the summary execution of prisoners and targeted aerial strikes against civilians. David Faris, Newsweek, 17 Mar. 2025 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 See All Example Sentences for summary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for summary
Noun
  • Items from China face a minimum tariff of thirty per cent, and that rate will surely go higher if the two sides can’t finalize a trade deal, the outlines of which were seemingly agreed upon in May.
    John Cassidy, New Yorker, 14 July 2025
  • Last night provided at least a skeleton of an outline of what that looks like.
    Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 July 2025
Adjective
  • Draft concise speaker notes, of a maximum length of 40 words, to accompany each slide.
    Bernard Marr, Forbes.com, 25 July 2025
  • Those include developing a clear and concise framework of the city’s role in disaster response, creating a city-specific recovery plan, clarifying the roles of the mayor’s office and City Council and updating disaster communication plan, policies and training.
    Jaelyn Rodriguez, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 July 2025
Noun
  • The brief also repeatedly mentions that in recent years, Little League social media platforms have, in a positive light, shown players flipping bats.
    Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 23 July 2025
  • Former judges: 'Lawyers can save a kid’s life' Scenes of more court confusion were detailed in a friend-of-the-court brief in the lawsuit challenging the funding halt.
    Nicol León, AZCentral.com, 22 July 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
  • Now read the latest MacBook Pro, iPhone, and Apple TV headlines in Forbes' weekly news digest from Cupertino...
    Ewan Spence, Forbes.com, 20 July 2025
  • Now read the latest Apple headlines impacting the iPhone 16e in Forbes’ weekly smartphone news digest...
    Ewan Spence, Forbes.com, 9 July 2025
Noun
  • KPop Demon Hunters’ streaming sum of 109.53 million clicks is the biggest for a soundtrack since Encanto was in its seventh week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 (March 5, 2022; with 114.67 million).
    Jim Asker, Billboard, 23 July 2025
  • Users spend immense sums on digital items, using Roblox’s proprietary currency, Robux.
    AJ Dhaliwal, Forbes.com, 23 July 2025
Noun
  • Rethink inventory management with smarter forecasting.
    Michael Wu, Forbes.com, 21 July 2025
  • However, as pre-tariff inventory dwindles in the second half of the year, both new and used car prices are expected to rise.
    Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 July 2025
Noun
  • But Masi Oka, star of Heroes and Hawaii 5-0, has to have one of the coolest right-out-of-college gigs on his resume.
    Jordan Hoffman, EW.com, 15 July 2025
  • However, that motion was denied, meaning Melly will remain in custody until the legal proceedings resume next year.
    Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 15 July 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Summary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/summary. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on summary

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!