SUMMONS Synonyms: 65 Similar and Opposite Words

summons 1 of 2

noun

ˈsə-mənz

Definition of summons

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

as in calls

to demand or request the presence or service of without explanation, the managing editor summoned me to his office

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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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as in musters

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

The number of summonses for low-level offenses, including criminal summonses, has risen during his tenure. — Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News, 13 Oct. 2026 They were eventually arrested and are expected to be issued summonses and released. — Ali Bauman, CBS News, 22 Sep. 2026

Verb

Furniture, toys, and (almost) everything else Really Really Free Market is also in the business of free clothing, but the event summons Hoosiers bearing tradable goods of all sorts. — Sophie Hartley, IndyStar, 3 Aug. 2026 Their identities are revealed by a mechanical fortune teller named The Amazing Karnak (Sydney Harmon), who summons the memories of each teen in order to give one lucky soul a chance to return to life. — David John Chávez, Mercury News, 28 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for summons

Recent Examples of Synonyms for summons

Noun

Jail records show the felony arrest warrant obtained by the Marysville Police Department remains in effect.

— Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 15 Oct. 2026
About 90% of the investor base of the company, including Larry Ellison, the Oracle billionaire and father of Skydance CEO David Ellison, as well as RedBird Capital, Middle East sovereign wealth funds and other backers, did not receive the warrants.

— Dade Hayes, Deadline, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of warrant

Verb

Braids and the Bonds of Sisterhood The act of braiding each other’s hair throughout history is what Gibson calls an intimate one.

— Audrey Noble, Vogue, 15 Oct. 2026
The line began with Stellina in 2018, which Vaonis calls the world's first smart telescope, followed by book-sized Hestia and the compact Vespera II.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of calls

Verb

An agent that gathers records or checks for required information may operate with limited intervention.

— Heather Bassett, Forbes.com, 13 Oct. 2026
When a storm, usually fed by unusually warm water, suddenly gathers a lot of strength, sustaining winds that increase in speed by at least 35 mph (56 kph) in 24 hours, it is called rapid intensification.

— ABC News, ABC News, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of gathers

Verb

Catherine’s story line evokes a feverish what-if scenario in which a survivor musters the requisite recklessness, talent for murder, and wig collection to mete out retribution.

— Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 30 July 2026
Every writer on our longlist brilliantly musters the power of words on the page to take the reader to new places, to see old places from new angles, to change minds.

— Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 28 July 2026

Definition of musters

Noun

Federal authorities seized Omar's phone in the search and have issued more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas, including to some of her relatives, a person briefed on the probe told the AP this week.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 18 Oct. 2026
Mejia’s subpoena, issued under his City Charter authority, came two and a half weeks after officials at LA28, the Olympic organizing committee, rejected his previous request to disclose the information.

— James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of subpoena

Verb

Eventually, Chili invites Lee over to his house, far away from the ears of his former colleagues shooting pool at Secrets.

— Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026
Wilson’s writing invites a leisurely pace and a conversational tone that cameras can’t enhance.

— Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of invites

Verb

Simpler battery packs lower costs The company buys battery cells and assembles its own packs rather than manufacturing the cells themselves.

— Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 15 Oct. 2026
His team then assembles mood boards using references from films, music videos and other media before developing sketches and finalizing designs.

— Tanya Fedak, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of assembles

Noun

This story has been updated to include the writ of habeus corpus filed by the Tates’ legal team on Wednesday.

— Elisabeth Garber-Paul, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2026
Although his official writ covers only civilian affairs and not military policy, Netanyahu gave him a completely free hand, and Smotrich has used it to full effect.

— Amos Harel, Foreign Affairs, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of writ

Browse Nearby Words

summoning

summons

summonses

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Style

“Summons.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/summons. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of summons

noun

verb

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