abstraction

American  

[ab-strak-shuhn] / æbˈstræk ʃən /

noun

• abstractions
  plural

1. an abstract or general idea or term.

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

3. an impractical idea; something visionary and unrealistic.

4. the act of taking away or separating; withdrawal.

   The sensation of cold is due to the abstraction of heat from our bodies.

5. secret removal, especially theft.

6. absent-mindedness; inattention; mental absorption.

7. Fine Arts.

   1. the abstract qualities or characteristics of a work of art.

   2. a work of art, especially a nonrepresentational one, stressing formal relationships.

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abstraction British  

/ æbˈstrækʃən /

noun

1. absence of mind; preoccupation

2. the process of formulating generalized ideas or concepts by extracting common qualities from specific examples

3. an idea or concept formulated in this way

   good and evil are abstractions

4. logic an operator that forms a class name or predicate from any given expression See also lambda calculus

5. an abstract painting, sculpture, etc

6. the act of withdrawing or removing

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• abstractional
  adjective
• abstractive
  adjective
• abstractively
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• abstractions
  plural

Etymology

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

Explanation

An abstraction is something nonspecific, a concept that isn't concrete. It can also refer to the state of mind in which a person is not paying attention to something but is lost in thought or daydreaming. Abstraction is the noun from the adjective abstract, which derives from the Latin abstrahere "to divert." From that, we can get the idea that an abstraction is something that is drawn away from concrete reality. In the art world, an abstraction is a painting or musical piece created in the style of expressionism, in which a subject is not realistically presented or even recognized, but rather is suggested by an emotional flow of paint or music.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

abstraction abstractions

In the extraordinary abstraction that follows, Thatcher finds her ideal role as one of NWR’s stilted avatars, gussied up in couture and spouting riddles.

From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026

The NFU said abstraction licences should be made more flexible to enable more water to be taken during these wetter winter months ahead of any dry summer spells.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

Ms. de Tores makes wonderful use of this device throughout the novel, offering a poetic abstraction to codify the plot.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

For a lot of people, this is still an abstraction.

From Slate ● Jul. 6, 2026

The amount of abstraction that a writer can get away with depends on the expertise of her readership.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

First, practice distinguishing between what the Constitution says and what judges and justices say about the Constitution, a document riddled with aspirational vagaries and flexible abstractions.

From Slate ● Jul. 20, 2026

Power and policy are not abstractions — they impact real people’s bodies, minds and lives, and they affect the well-being of the larger community.

From Salon ● Mar. 3, 2026

His Regen show, through March 1, also features short video works and the abstractions of camera-less images he considers “pure photography,” created in the darkroom by shining light directly onto photosensitive paper.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 17, 2026

Long existing beyond the boundaries of race, nationhood and categorical art movements, Lam produced a range of work, including graphic design, book illustrations, large Jackson Pollock-inspired abstractions, and expressionistic ceramics.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 31, 2026

They loved the simple, concrete way she could convey theological abstractions.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom