summons 1 of 2

as in warrant
a written notice ordering a person to appear in court if you ignore a court summons, you will be fined

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summons

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of summon
1
2
as in gathers
to call into being through the use of one's inner resources or powers managed to summon a bright smile despite the gloomy day

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3
as in musters
to bring together in assembly by or as if by command summoned a special session of parliament

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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 summons
Noun
Garcia was issued a criminal complaint summons along with several related motor vehicle summonses. Muri Assunção, New York Daily News, 7 Aug. 2025 The Denver Fire Department, which oversees conveyances in the city, warns that noncompliance will result in officials shutting down elevators and issuing summonses to appear in court. Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 6 July 2025
Verb
Both men will be summonsed to court to face a charge of selling fireworks. Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 24 June 2025 In November 2023, Ivanka Trump was summonsed to the New York State Supreme Court to testify against her father, Donald Trump, in a civil real estate fraud trial. Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 13 Sep. 2024 See All Example Sentences for summons
Recent Examples of Synonyms for summons
Noun
  • According to the diary, the workers were told to fill in paperwork for a foreign arrest warrant, without any explanation of the documents or the detainees’ legal rights.
    Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 15 Sep. 2025
  • What is an administrative warrant?
    Zoe Sottile, CNN Money, 14 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • But her initial comments, made Monday in light of the Charlie Kirk assassination, set off a bipartisan backlash and calls for her resignation.
    Naomi Lim, The Washington Examiner, 17 Sep. 2025
  • Budd’s plan calls for giving judges and magistrates more freedom to initiate their own mental health commitment proceedings.
    Nick Sullivan, Charlotte Observer, 16 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • As the industry gathers at the SIA conference, the challenge is clear.
    John Winsor, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Swapping stories The group, which includes a few wives and widows, generally gathers for about an hour in the department’s meeting room.
    Mary Divine, Twin Cities, 7 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • For comparison, the current Porsche 911 GT3 RS, with its Boeing-spec rear wing, musters a maximum of 1,896 pounds of downforce.
    Tim Pitt, Robb Report, 6 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • The organization, a private nonprofit governing and promoting school sports events in the state, is not a defendant in the suit, but was ordered to provide extensive information in a 23-point list of requests included in the subpoena.
    Samantha Riedel, Them., 15 Sep. 2025
  • The Wayfarer Parties previously requested Swift’s deposition in May 2025 before ultimately withdrawing the subpoena.
    Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 13 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Nostalgia, as Sheeran learns, sometimes reopens wounds and invites emotional gut punches previously buried for self-protection.
    Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 12 Sep. 2025
  • The genre invites focus and contemplation, and its structure is balanced with improvisation, which creates a sense of flow and impermanence.
    Anna Haines, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • When cast onto a flat mold and dried out, the microgel assembles into a paper or film, depending on the final thickness, that is strong yet flexible.
    Sandy Ong, JSTOR Daily, 11 Sep. 2025
  • The screams, the reason everyone assembles, when the screams come, after a few collective inhales and exhales and a moment to gather one’s thoughts, the screams come like long guttural howls.
    Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 3 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • In her ruling, Judge Lindsey Martinez directed the attorney for the group that brought the lawsuit to submit a writ of mandate in the next 30 days detailing how the city would have to comply with the law.
    Claire Wang, Oc Register, 5 Sep. 2025
  • Emotions are writ large and loud in Ben Hania’s script, as Red Crescent workers weep for the young girl at the end of the line, and furiously argue among each other about the morally right course of action to take, versus the strictures of protocol.
    Guy Lodge, Variety, 3 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Summons.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/summons. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.

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