abstract

[adjective ab-strakt, ab-strakt; noun ab-strakt; verb ab-strakt for 10–13, ab-strakt for 14]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR abstract ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

thought of apart from concrete realities, specific objects, or actual instances: an abstract idea.

expressing a quality or characteristic apart from any specific object or instance, as justice, poverty, and speed.

theoretical; not applied or practical: abstract science.

difficult to understand; abstruse: abstract speculations.

Fine Arts.

of or relating to the formal aspect of art, emphasizing lines, colors, generalized or geometrical forms, etc., especially with reference to their relationship to one another.
(often initial capital letter)pertaining to the nonrepresentational art styles of the 20th century.

noun

a summary of a text, scientific article, document, speech, etc.; epitome.

something that concentrates in itself the essential qualities of anything more extensive or more general, or of several things; essence.

an idea or term considered apart from some material basis or object.

an abstract work of art.

verb (used with object)

to draw or take away; remove.

to divert or draw away the attention of.

to steal.

to consider as a general quality or characteristic apart from specific objects or instances: to abstract the notions of time, space, and matter.

to make an abstract of; summarize.

Idioms

abstract away from, to omit from consideration.

in the abstract, without reference to a specific object or instance; in theory: beauty in the abstract.

Origin of abstract

1400–50; late Middle English: withdrawn from worldly interests < Latin abstractus drawn off (past participle of abstrahere). See abs-, tract¹

Related formsab·stract·er, nounab·stract·ly, adverbab·stract·ness, nounnon·ab·stract, adjective, nounnon·ab·stract·ly, adverbnon·ab·stract·ness, nouno·ver·ab·stract, verb (used with object), adjectivepre·ab·stract, adjectivesu·per·ab·stract, adjectivesu·per·ab·stract·ly, adverbsu·per·ab·stract·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for abstract

Contemporary Examples of abstract

These matters are not mere threats to abstract constitutional principles.
Politicians Only Love Journalists When They're Dead
Luke O’Neil
January 8, 2015
To listeners, Adnan is a real human while Jay remains an abstract figure.
The Deal With Serial’s Jay? He’s Pissed Off, Mucks Up Our Timeline
Emily Shire
December 31, 2014
Aelita Andre has just wrapped up another major show of her abstract paintings and given interviews on her latest inspirations.
The Tiniest Jackson Pollock
Justin Jones
November 5, 2014
She became an international sensation at the tender age of two—before she even started pre-school—for her abstract works of art.
The Tiniest Jackson Pollock
Justin Jones
November 5, 2014
Di Bello described the color-splashed works as “abstract expressionism” with “surrealist” methods.
The Tiniest Jackson Pollock
Justin Jones
November 5, 2014

Historical Examples of abstract

Let us waste no time in discussions about abstract law and right.
Stories from Thucydides
H. L. Havell
St. Anselm proved the existence of God by the most abstract arguments.
Initiation into Philosophy
Emile Faguet
Speculative or theoretic knowledge is divided into abstract and concrete.
Critical Miscellanies (Vol. 3 of 3)
John Morley
Thus, physiology is an abstract science; but zoology is concrete.
Critical Miscellanies (Vol. 3 of 3)
John Morley
This is not the fault of Columbus, albeit we only have an abstract of his journal.
Christopher Columbus and His Monument Columbia
Various

British Dictionary definitions for abstract

abstract

adjective (ˈæbstrækt)

having no reference to material objects or specific examples; not concrete

not applied or practical; theoretical

hard to understand; recondite; abstruse

denoting art characterized by geometric, formalized, or otherwise nonrepresentational qualities

defined in terms of its formal propertiesan abstract machine

philosophy (of an idea) functioning for some empiricists as the meaning of a general termthe word ``man'' does not name all men but the abstract idea of manhood

noun (ˈæbstrækt)

a condensed version of a piece of writing, speech, etc; summary

an abstract term or idea

an abstract painting, sculpture, etc

in the abstract without reference to specific circumstances or practical experience

verb (æbˈstrækt) (tr)

to think of (a quality or concept) generally without reference to a specific example; regard theoretically

to form (a general idea) by abstraction

(ˈæbstrækt) (also intr) to summarize or epitomize

to remove or extract

euphemistic to steal

Word Origin for abstract

C14: (in the sense: extracted): from Latin abstractus drawn off, removed from (something specific), from abs- ab- 1 + trahere to draw

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

Word Origin and History for abstract

adj.

late 14c., originally in grammar (of nouns), from Latin abstractus "drawn away," past participle of abstrahere "to drag away; detach divert," from ab(s)- "away" (see ab-) + trahere "draw" (see tract (n.1)).

Meaning "withdrawn or separated from material objects or practical matters" is from mid-15c. That of "difficult to understand, abstruse" is from c.1400. Specifically in reference to modern art, it dates from 1914; abstract expressionism as an American-based uninhibited approach to art exemplified by Jackson Pollack is from 1952, but the term itself had been used in the 1920s of Kandinsky and others.

Oswald Herzog, in an article on "Der Abstrakte Expressionismus" (Sturm, heft 50, 1919) gives us a statement which with equal felicity may be applied to the artistic attitude of the Dadaists. "Abstract Expressionism is perfect Expressionism," he writes. "It is pure creation. It casts spiritual processes into a corporeal mould. It does not borrow objects from the real world; it creates its own objects .... The abstract reveals the will of the artist; it becomes expression. ..." [William A. Drake, "The Life and Deeds of Dada," 1922]

"abridgement or summary of a document," mid-15c., from abstract (adj.). The general sense of "a smaller quantity containing the virtue or power of a greater" [Johnson] is recorded from 1560s.

1540s, from Latin abstractus or else from the adjective abstract. Related: Abstracted; abstracting, abstractedly.

Medicine definitions for abstract

abstract

[ăb-străkt′, ăb′străkt′]

adj.

Considered apart from concrete existence.

Not applied or practical; theoretical.

abstract

adjective

noun

verb (used with object)

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Idioms

Origin of abstract

Examples from the Web for abstract

Contemporary Examples of abstract

Historical Examples of abstract

abstract

adjective (ˈæbstrækt)

noun (ˈæbstrækt)

verb (æbˈstrækt) (tr)

Word Origin for abstract

abstract

adj.