conceptual
Americanadjective
adjective
-
relating to or concerned with concepts; abstract
-
concerned with the definitions or relations of the concepts of some field of enquiry rather than with the facts
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of conceptual
First recorded in 1655–65; Medieval Latin conceptuālis; see conceptus, -al 1
Explanation
Something is conceptual when it deals primarily with abstract or original thoughts. A conceptual plan is one in an early stage. To make it work, you'll need to flesh out the details. Conceptual art is art in which the concept seems more important than the physical aspects of the artwork. In New York's Museum of Modern Art, you can see Marcel DuChamp's conceptual piece, "Bicycle Wheel," which is a bicycle wheel mounted on a stool. Why is this art? The concept, or idea, behind it is that everyday objects become art when looked at outside of their uses. In general, when something is conceptual it takes a bit of thought to figure it out.
Vocabulary lists containing conceptual
On a Pedestal: Marble-ous Words for Sculpture
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Awkward
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"Building Design and Construction Handbook," Vocabulary from Section 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“I was knocked out by the music they were making, which was so interesting on the conceptual side, but musically exploring these really old themes,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
“Plastic soul,” then, becomes a conceptual shorthand for The Beatles’ chameleonic ability to absorb a genre’s core qualities and refashion it into something distinctly their own.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
And Brian Napier’s works also draw on classicism, though in a more conceptual framework.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
Elsewhere, “Sightlines” wanders into conceptual territory and particularly shaky ground.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
The thesis is misnamed, because, as it is usually formulated, Duhem did not hold it and Quine abandoned it, but it is the fundamental conceptual underpinning of much modern history and philosophy of science.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
