Library / English Dictionary

SUMMON

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make ready for action or use

Example:

marshal resources

Synonyms:

marshal; mobilise; mobilize; summon

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "summon" is one way to...):

collect; garner; gather; pull together (assemble or get together)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 2

Meaning:

Call in an official matter, such as to attend court

Synonyms:

cite; summon; summons

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "summon" is one way to...):

call; send for (order, request, or command to come)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "summon"):

vouch (summon (a vouchee) into court to warrant or defend a title)

demand (summon to court)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody PP

Sense 3

Meaning:

Ask to come

Example:

summon a lawyer

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "summon" is one way to...):

call; send for (order, request, or command to come)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "summon"):

page (contact, as with a pager or by calling somebody's name over a P.A. system)

buzz (call with a buzzer)

convene; convoke (call together)

beckon (summon with a wave, nod, or some other gesture)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

summoning (calling up supposed supernatural forces by spells and incantations)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Gather or bring together

Example:

Summon all your courage

Synonyms:

come up; muster; muster up; rally; summon

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "summon" is one way to...):

collect; garner; gather; pull together (assemble or get together)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 5

Meaning:

Cause to become available for use, either literally or figuratively

Example:

running into an old friend summoned up memories of her childhood

Synonyms:

call up; summon

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "summon" is one way to...):

create; make (make or cause to be or to become)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "summon"):

arouse; bring up; call down; call forth; conjure; conjure up; evoke; invoke; put forward; raise; stir (summon into action or bring into existence, often as if by magic)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Credits

 Context examples: 

That is why I thought it best to summon this lady to your aid.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Mrs. Bennet rang the bell, and Miss Elizabeth was summoned to the library.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

She came to summon him, and he followed her.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

John Knightley came; but Mr. Weston was unexpectedly summoned to town and must be absent on the very day.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

To my surprise, it was a woman who answered the summons, a large, coarse-faced, elderly woman, in an apron.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The footman came at the summons, very white and nervous.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

The next morning, at daybreak, I summoned sufficient courage and unlocked the door of my laboratory.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

A disorder characterized by a state of generalized weakness with a pronounced inability to summon sufficient energy to accomplish daily activities.

(Fatigue, NCI Thesaurus/CTCAE)

Summoning courage, however, and reflecting that it was a public dwelling, in which he had as much right as any other man, he pushed it open and stepped into the common room.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He was at too great a height for that, and having been deaf to a twice-repeated summons, he went without the heavy Sunday dinner with which Mr. Higginbotham invariably graced his table.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)