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

Sunny weather is next That’s a real-life concern, not an abstraction. —Jim Newton, The Mercury News, 10 Jan. 2025

Every pane is an abstraction of the traditional Fresnel lenses used in lighthouses all over Nova Scotia. —Jeanine Barone, Forbes, 9 Jan. 2025

Essay Love Means Leaving the World Out of It Michelle Dean In both her poetry and her relationship with Robert Browning, Elizabeth Barrett understood love as an abstraction beyond everyday matters. —Max Ufberg, hazlitt.net, 4 Jan. 2025

Its rigid thematic frame—an arid realm of thinly evoked abstractions—carries over into its composition. —Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 3 Jan. 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

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