abstract

[ adjective ab-strakt, ab-strakt; noun ab-strakt; verb ab-strakt for 11-14, ab-strakt for 10 ]

See synonyms for: abstract abstracted abstracts abstractly 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.

not applied or practical; theoretical: 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 Abstract . 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 make an abstract of; summarize.
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.

Idioms about abstract

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

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English: “withdrawn from worldly interests,” from Latin abstractus “drawn off” (past participle of abstrahere ).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

Other words from abstract

ab·stract·er, noun
ab·stract·ly, adverb
ab·stract·ness, noun
non·ab·stract, adjective, noun
non·ab·stract·ly, adverb
non·ab·stract·ness, noun
o·ver·ab·stract, verb (used with object), adjective
pre·ab·stract, adjective
su·per·ab·stract, adjective
su·per·ab·stract·ly, adverb
su·per·ab·stract·ness, noun

Words Nearby abstract

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

How to use abstract in a sentence

In a pursuit whose meaning and purpose is abstract at the best of times, that’s not nothing.
Stop Counting Your Running Mileage | Alex Hutchinson | August 28, 2020 | Outside Online
“Our models can validate thousands of unseen candidates in seconds,” the study’s authors wrote in the abstract to their paper, which appears in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
50 new planets, including one as big as Neptune, are identified using A.I. | rhhackettfortune | August 26, 2020 | Fortune
It also makes it more real and concrete, rather than abstract.
Hurricanes have names. Some climate experts say heat waves should, too | Jack J. Lee | August 14, 2020 | Science News
The same applies in fields of biology dealing with more abstract concepts of the individual — entities that emerge as distinct patterns within larger schemes of behavior or activity.
What Is an Individual? Biology Seeks Clues in Information Theory. | Jordana Cepelewicz | July 16, 2020 | Quanta Magazine
The Ising model represents one of the simplest places in this abstract “theory space,” and so serves as a proving ground for developing novel tools for exploring uncharted territory.
The Cartoon Picture of Magnets That Has Transformed Science | Charlie Wood | June 24, 2020 | Quanta Magazine

These matters are not mere threats to abstract constitutional principles.
Politicians Only Love Journalists When They're Dead | Luke O’Neil | January 8, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
Do you think that as we get older our thoughts shift to the more abstract, the music, than the definite, the lyrics?
Belle & Sebastian Aren’t So Shy Anymore | James Joiner | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
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 | THE DAILY BEAST
In the mindset of the Coexist camp, those abstract beliefs have become twisted things, wrapped up with hate.
COEXIST’s Bonehead Bumper-Sticker Politics | Michael Schulson | December 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
“There will be flashbacks to that day, but I think it will be a reasonably abstract performance,” Berger said.
The My Lai Massacre Inspires an Opera | Asawin Suebsaeng | December 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
This work is now lost, and we know it only by the abstract given by Photius in the passage quoted.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV. | Various
If you are thinking of making an abstract of a particular book, awaken the utmost interest in regard to it before you begin.
Assimilative Memory | Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
Any other work of which an abstract is published will serve the student as well as the above.
Assimilative Memory | Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
Three things are required: To learn how to abstract; To make one, at least, such abstract; and To learn it when made.
Assimilative Memory | Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
He never made any attempt to learn the abstract science of war, and until stirred by danger his character seemed to slumber.
Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-Pattison

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 properties: an abstract machine
philosophy (of an idea) functioning for some empiricists as the meaning of a general term: the 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

Origin of 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

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