abstract

/ˈæbˌstɹækt/

adjective 15
verb 12
noun 8
forms 10
phrases 1

adjective15

•
Not concrete: conceptual, ideal.
- Her new film is an abstract piece, combining elements of magic realism, flashbacks, and animation but with very little in terms of plot construction.
Pertaining to the formal aspect of art, such as the lines, colors, shapes, and the relationships among them.
Free from representational qualities, in particular the non-representational styles of the 20ᵗʰ century.
Lacking a story.
•
Difficult to understand; abstruse; hard to conceptualize.
- The politician gave a somewhat abstract answer when asked about their plans to cut spending.
Apart from practice or reality; vague; theoretical; impersonal; not applied.
Pertaining comprehensively to, or representing, a class or group of objects, as opposed to any specific object; considered apart from any application to a particular object: general, generic, nonspecific; representational.
As a noun, denoting a concept or intangible as opposed to an object, place, or person.
•
Separately expressing a property or attribute of an object that is considered to be inherent to that object: attributive, ascriptive.
- A concrete name is a name which stands for a thing; an abstract name which stands for an attribute of a thing... — 1843
Insufficiently factual.
Being a partial basis for subclasses rather than a complete template for objects.
Absolute.
(no longer used) Derived; extracted.
(no longer used) Drawn away; removed from; apart from; separate.
•
(no longer used) Absent-minded.
- Abstract as in a transe methought I saw, abstract, as in a trance — 1667

verb12

•
To separate; to disengage.
- He was incapable of forming any opinion or resolution abstracted from his own prejudices. — 1822
•
To consider abstractly; to contemplate separately or by itself; to consider theoretically; to look at as a general quality.
- To abstract the notions of time, of space, and of matter. — 1781
To conceptualize an ideal subgroup by means of the generalization of an attribute, as follows: by apprehending an attribute inherent to one individual, then separating that attribute and contemplating it by itself, then conceiving of that attribute as a general quality, then despecifying that conceived quality with respect to several or many individuals, and by then ideating a group composed of those individuals perceived to possess said quality.
•
(rare) To perform the process of abstraction.
- I own myself able to abstract in one sense. — 1710
To create abstractions.
•
To produce an abstraction, usually by refactoring existing code. Generally used with “out”.
- He abstracted out the square root function.
•
To remove; to take away; withdraw.
- The lightning of the public burdens, which at present abstract a large proportion of profits and wages. — 1834
•
(euphemistic) To steal; to take away; to remove without permission.
- Von Rosen had quietly abstracted the bearing-reins from the harness. — 1872
To summarize; to abridge; to epitomize.
•
To draw off (interest or attention).
- He was wholly abstracted by other objects.
[with oneself] (figurative) To withdraw oneself; to retire.
•
(no longer used) To extract by means of distillation.
- Poison from roses who could e'er abstract? — 1601

noun8

•
An abridgement or summary of a longer publication.
- An analysis and abstract of every treatise he had read. — 1741
A summary title of the key points detailing a tract of land, for ownership; abstract of title.
An abstract work of art.
•
An abstraction; an abstract term; that which is abstract.
- Thus the concrete like has its abstract likeness; the concretes, father and son, have the abstracts, paternity and filiation. — 1843
The theoretical way of looking at things; something that exists only in idealized form.
•
Something that concentrates in itself the qualities of a larger item, or multiple items.
- Man, the abstract Of all perfection, which the workmanship Of Heaven hath modeled. — 1628
Concentrated essence of a product.
A powdered solid extract of a medicinal substance mixed with lactose.

forms

abstracted · abstractedst · abstracting · abstracteth · abstracts · abstractest · abstracter · more abstract · abstractest · most abstract

Phrases with abstract

abstract away from
To omit the consideration of details regarding (something); to dismiss the details of (something) so as to concern oneself with higher features and more complex/interesting elements.