abstract
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.
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.
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
1Other words from abstract
- ab·stract·er, noun
- ab·stract·ly, adverb
- ab·stract·ness, noun
- non·ab·stract, adjective, noun
- non·ab·stract·ly, adverb
- non·ab·stract·ness, noun
- o·ver·ab·stract, verb (used with object), adjective
- pre·ab·stract, adjective
- su·per·ab·stract, adjective
- su·per·ab·stract·ly, adverb
- su·per·ab·stract·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
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 PostThey 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 MagazineI’m thinking about abstract systems and studying their evolution to understand what kind of predictions can be made about their long-term behavior.
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.
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 | THE DAILY BEASTTake concrete steps aimed at addressing the problem that looms, rather than ruminating abstractly about what-if scenarios.
And because it seems, albeit abstractly, linked to creativity.
Put thus broadly and abstractly, the answer must be negative.
The Analysis of Mind | Bertrand RussellIt was impossible for life to reason abstractly until speech was developed.
Revolution and Other Essays | Jack LondonThe truth of the proposition, abstractly considered, has been long acknowledged and nowadays requires no argument.
Wanted, a Young Woman to Do Housework | C. Helene BarkerBefore, 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 ScottThis decision did not come abstractly, nor did it come quickly.
The Bible and Life | Edwin Holt Hughes
British Dictionary definitions for abstract
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 properties: an abstract machine
philosophy (of an idea) functioning for some empiricists as the meaning of a general term: the word ``man'' does not name all men but the abstract idea of manhood
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
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
Origin of abstract
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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