abstraction

noun

ab·​strac·​tion ab-ˈstrak-shən 

əb-

1

a

: the act or process of abstracting : the state of being abstracted

b

: an abstract idea or term

2

: absence of mind or preoccupation

3

: abstract quality or character

4

a

: an abstract composition or creation in art

b

: abstractionism

abstractional

ab-ˈstrak-sh(ə-)nəl 

əb-

adjective

abstractive

ab-ˈstrak-tiv 

ˈab-ˌstrak-

adjective

Did you know?

From its roots, abstraction should mean basically "something pulled or drawn away". So abstract art is art that has moved away from painting objects of the ordinary physical world in order to show something beyond it. Theories are often abstractions; so a theory about economics, for instance, may "pull back" to take a broad view that somehow explains all of economics (but maybe doesn't end up explaining any of it very successfully). An abstract of a medical or scientific article is a one-paragraph summary of its contents—that is, the basic findings "pulled out" of the article.

Synonyms

• cogitation
• concept
• conception
• idea
• image
• impression
• intellection
• mind's eye
• notion
• picture
• thought

Examples of abstraction in a Sentence

abstraction of data from hospital records

“Beauty” and “truth” are abstractions.

She gazed out the window in abstraction.

Recent Examples on the Web

The museum is home to art created after 1950 in various mediums and galleries organized by concepts and movements such as pop art, minimalism and abstraction. 700 Prospect St., La Jolla. —Abby Hamblin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Mar. 2025

Inaugural shows alone are devoted to the arts of Africa, the work of Renoir, geometric abstraction, and British artist Isaac Julien’s nine-screen video-installation tribute to Bo Bardi. —Andrew Sessa, Robb Report, 15 Mar. 2025

The exhibition ends with artists whose work achieves pure abstraction, like Volpi’s paintings from the 1940s and onwards. —Emi Eleode, ARTnews.com, 27 Feb. 2025

The second season’s title sequence, once again designed by Latta, doesn’t appear until deep into the second episode, reprising the first-season intro’s creepy abstractions but also serving a slightly different purpose this time around. —Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 5 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French & Late Latin; Middle French, "abduction (of a woman), removal, extraction (of a foreign body from a wound), (in philosophy) process by which the mind is able to form universal representations of the properties of distinct objects," borrowed from Late Latin abstractiōn-, abstractiō, from Latin abstrac- (variant stem of abstrahere "to remove forcibly") + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of action nouns — more at abstract entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for abstraction

• attraction
• compaction
• contraction
• detraction
• diffraction
• distraction
• exaction
• extraction
• impaction
• inaction
• infraction
• olfaction

Kids Definition

abstraction

noun

ab·​strac·​tion ab-ˈstrak-shən 

1

a

: the act or process of abstracting : the state of being abstracted

b

: an abstract idea or term

2

: an artistic composition or creation having designs that do not represent actual objects

abstractive

-ˈstrak-tiv 

adjective