abstraction

[ ab-strak-shuhn ]

See synonyms for abstraction on Thesaurus.com

noun

an abstract or general idea or term.
the act of considering something as a general quality or characteristic, apart from concrete realities, specific objects, or actual instances.

an impractical idea; something visionary and unrealistic.
the act of taking away or separating; withdrawal: The sensation of cold is due to the abstraction of heat from our bodies.
secret removal, especially theft.
absent-mindedness; inattention; mental absorption.
Fine Arts.
- the abstract qualities or characteristics of a work of art.
- a work of art, especially a nonrepresentational one, stressing formal relationships.

Origin of abstraction

First recorded in 1540–50; from Late Latin abstractiōn-, stem of abstractiō “separation,” literally, “a drawing off,” from abstract(us) “drawn off” + -iō noun suffix; see abstract -ion

Other words from abstraction

ab·strac·tion·al, adjective

Words Nearby abstraction

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use abstraction in a sentence

It frustrated her to hear other students discussing death as an abstraction, subject to simple moral rules.
The Nurse Coaching People Through Death by Starvation | Nick Tabor | November 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
It is this kind of abstraction that leads to more mythology, more heroic narratives, more undertones of patriotic martyrdom.
War Is About More Than Heroes, Martyrs, and Patriots | Nathan Bradley Bethea | November 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
In the many portraits, Picasso oscillates between naturalism and abstraction in his portraits of Jacqueline.
Revealing The Unseen Picasso | Justin Jones | November 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Democrats have to stop allowing Republicans to define the election as an up or down vote on an abstraction called Obamacare.
Democrats Must Run on Obamacare in November | Robert Shrum | March 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Only someone already painfully unable to deal with abstraction would draw such a suicidal conclusion.
Richard Hofstadter and America’s New Wave of Anti-Intellectualism | David Masciotra | March 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

Anemia in these cases is probably due both to toxins and to abstraction of blood.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell Todd
Recovering from his fit of abstraction, Pyne, casting a final keen glance at the sleeper, walked out of the room.
Dope | Sax Rohmer
Never affect a foolish reserve in a mixed company, keeping aloof from others as if in a state of mental abstraction.
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness | Florence Hartley
In their abstraction they had taken the long way home, instead of cutting directly across the ranch in the direction of the house.
The Outdoor Girls in the Saddle | Laura Lee Hope
But in this abstraction from all outward things, his worldly affairs went ever lower down.
Ruth | Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell

British Dictionary definitions for abstraction

abstraction

/ (æbˈstrækʃən) /

noun

absence of mind; preoccupation
the process of formulating generalized ideas or concepts by extracting common qualities from specific examples

an idea or concept formulated in this way: good and evil are abstractions
logic an operator that forms a class name or predicate from any given expression: See also lambda calculus
an abstract painting, sculpture, etc
the act of withdrawing or removing

Derived forms of abstraction

abstractive, adjective
abstractively, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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