Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use summarily in a sentence

17 example sentences · adverb

Summarily means in a summary manner. Example: “They were fired summarily at a single plant-wide meeting.”

Examples of summarily by meaning

adverbIn a summary manner.

  • They were fired summarily at a single plant-wide meeting.
  • It is true that contempt committed in a trial courtroom can under some circumstances be punished summarily by the trial judge.1955, Hugo Black, In re Murchison: Opinion of the Court, Supreme Court of the United States
  • Both Sir Winston Churchill and later Labour leader Michael Foot were allegedly regular recipients of private cheques that would have seen them summarily sacked in this present age of transparency.2023 March 8, Howard Johnston, “Was Marples the real railway wrecker?”, in RAIL, number 978, page 52

adverbOver a short period of time, briefly.

  • He covered the topic summarily in an answer to a question.
  • After this mention of the closing persecution, he summarily indicates all that the devil, and the city of which he is the prince, shall suffer in the last judgment.1950, Marcus, transl. Dods, chapter 14, in The City of God, book XX, translation of original by Augustine of Hippo
  • They didn't get shot to death in hold-ups, strangled to death in rapes, stabbed to death in saloons, bludgeoned to death with axes by parents or children or die summarily by some other act of God.1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Soldier in White”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 168

More sentences with summarily

  • Across Ukraine, the initial shock over the confrontation, which culminated in President Donald Trump summarily dismissing Mr.2025 March 3, Howard LaFranchi, “Ukrainians flock to Zelenskyy’s banner, but hope for solution with US”, in The Christian Science Monitor. From the entry mendicant
  • The particular person roleplaying Beatty in that battle suggested summarily executing Seymour and dumping him overboard.2018 October 17, Drachinifel, 30:18 from the start, in Last Ride of the High Seas Fleet - Battle of Texel 1918, archived from the original…. From the entry roleplay
  • But an Alcmaeonid archon had some of the Cylonians summarily executed.2009, Robin Waterfield, “The Rise and Fall of Alcibiades”, in Why Socrates Died: Dispelling the Myths, London: Faber and Faber, →ISBN…. From the entry Cylonian
  • He had summarily called him down to his office to read him the riot act.1993, Ruth M. Sprague, Wild Justice. From the entry read someone the riot act
  • Media whistleblowers cannot be summarily characterized either as "sources" or "sourcerers".1992, Hastings communications and entertainment law journal, page 396. From the entry sourcerer
  • The police command, from sergeant to chief, is summarily defensive of the actions of police officers.1977 August 20, David Brill, “Civil Custody Law Harasses New Bedford Gays”, in Gay Community News, volume 5, number 7, page 3. From the entry command
  • I had an understudy so if I messed up or tried to create a scene, I would be summarily replaced.2016 October 17, Dipo Adesida, My French Teacher Had an Igbo Accent: An Inspiring Collection of Memories, Memoirs and Mischiefs, Partridge…. From the entry joker
  • Assuming the solution did not involve summarily executing anyone suspected of being about to drop litter, it is unlikely to have significant second-order effects.2023, Charles Chao Rong Phua, Policy Strategy and Innovation Primer..., p. 22. From the entry litter
  • Lo and behold, the Skrull throneworld was summarily destroyed by the planet-eating Galactus, and Veranke assumed the throne by right of succession.2015, Dan Casey, 100 Things Avengers Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die, →ISBN. From the entry throneworld
  • The latter had likewise been seduced by the Professor—likewise summarily dumped—and wished to revile the P. with some other local Ancient Marineress who might lend a sympathetic ear.2010, Terry Castle, “The Professor”, in The Professor and Other Writings, Harper, →ISBN, page 288. From the entry ancient marineress
  • Given the two options available to the captain when the generators failed, the risks involved in continuing to Carbondale were such that this option should have been rejected summarily.1985 March 5, National Transportation Safety Board, “2.2 Operational and Human Performance Factors - The Captain's Decision”, in Aircraft…. From the entry load shedding

Meaning of summarily

  1. adverb In a summary manner.
  2. adverb Over a short period of time, briefly.

Full definition of summarily

Questions about summarily in a sentence

How do you use summarily in a sentence?
Summarily is used as an adverb. For example: “They were fired summarily at a single plant-wide meeting.”
What is a short sentence with summarily?
“They were fired summarily at a single plant-wide meeting.”
What does summarily mean?
Summarily means in a summary manner.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: summarily (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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