abstract

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

/ adjective æbˈstrækt, ˈæb strækt; noun ˈæb strækt; verb æbˈstrækt for 11-14, ˈæb strækt for 10 /

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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.

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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First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English: “withdrawn from worldly interests,” from Latin abstractus “drawn off” (past participle of abstrahere ).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, nounab·stract·ly, adverbab·stract·ness, nounnon·ab·stract, adjective, noun

non·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. 2023

How to use abstract in a sentence

The two earliest works here, which include the show’s namesake, are gestural in the manner of abstract expressionism.
In the galleries: The Washington colorists and the CIA|Mark Jenkins|November 20, 2020|Washington Post
They needed to consider all rocks and then sketch out a convincing theory of how abstract math could percolate down through messy geophysics and into even messier reality.
Scientists Uncover the Universal Geometry of Geology|Joshua Sokol|November 19, 2020|Quanta Magazine
I’m thinking about abstract systems and studying their evolution to understand what kind of predictions can be made about their long-term behavior.
Searching Symbols for the Rules of Change|Rachel Crowell|November 17, 2020|Quanta Magazine
You can talk about the abstract existence of 0s and 1s, and how an operator might act on 0s and 1s, and these are all much more abstract mathematical relations.
What Is a Particle?|Natalie Wolchover|November 12, 2020|Quanta Magazine

In the 1970s, an abstract painter named Harold Cohen introduced the world to the first artistic AI system, called AARON.
Computers are changing how art is made|Stephen Ornes|November 12, 2020|Science News For Students
What do you think it is, abstractly, that makes this period so absorbing?
How I Write: Erik Larson Revisits ‘Isaac’s Storm’|Noah Charney|October 31, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Take concrete steps aimed at addressing the problem that looms, rather than ruminating abstractly about what-if scenarios.
Advice From the Oldest Americans|Casey Schwartz|October 29, 2011|DAILY BEAST
And because it seems, albeit abstractly, linked to creativity.
Steal This Book|Rachel Shteir|July 5, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Put thus broadly and abstractly, the answer must be negative.
The Analysis of Mind|Bertrand Russell
It was impossible for life to reason abstractly until speech was developed.
Revolution and Other Essays|Jack London
The truth of the proposition, abstractly considered, has been long acknowledged and nowadays requires no argument.
Wanted, a Young Woman to Do Housework|C. Helene Barker
Before, she had sympathised with Rogers abstractly; now her sympathy was for a hopeless soul, bare and agonising beneath her eyes.
To Him That Hath|Leroy Scott
This decision did not come abstractly, nor did it come quickly.
The Bible and Life|Edwin Holt Hughes

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

abstract

Idioms about abstract

Origin of abstract

OTHER WORDS FROM abstract

Words related to abstract

How to use abstract in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for abstract

Word Origin for abstract