breviary

noun

ˈbrē-və-rē How to pronounce breviary (audio)
Definition of breviarynext
as in summary
a short statement of the main points a speech that could serve as a breviary for impeachment

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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 breviary Books of Hours are breviaries, or a selection of prayers and psalms taken from long prayer books used by monks. — Brian T. Allen, National Review, 28 Jan. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for breviary
  1. summary
  2. summa
  3. outline
Noun
  • This summary does an injustice to the originality and the sophistication of Tregenza’s way with narrative form.
    — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2026
  • That court hearing was preceded by an unusual and disturbing summary of the case filed with the court by Hochman.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of summary
Noun
  • The stage was set for the Fourth, whose five movements add up to a summa of Bartók’s art, by turns tenaciously labored, sinuously swirling, nocturnally eerie, pizzicato-punchy, and flat-out wild.
    — Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024
  • Alas, Dostoevsky — all of whose major characters clearly embody aspects of his own extremist personality — died in 1881, shortly after completing this summa of his most deeply felt themes and obsessions.
    — Michael Dirda, Washington Post, 24 Aug. 2023
Definition of summa
Noun
  • In his experimental doc, Wadimoff has the Palestinian refugees recreate the experiences of their escape from Gaza on a barren stage marked out by chalk outlines, in the style of Lars von Trier’s Dogville.
    — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The sky was a smoky grayish-orange and trees a few hundred yards away had turned to ghostly outlines.
    — Lorraine Boissoneault, STAT, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of outline

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Cite this Entry

“Breviary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breviary. Accessed 23 Aug. 2026.

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