ABSTRACT

abstract

(adjective) existing only in the mind; separated from embodiment; “abstract words like ‘truth’ and ‘justice’”

abstract

(adjective) dealing with a subject in the abstract without practical purpose or intention; “abstract reasoning”; “abstract science”

abstract, abstractionist, nonfigurative, nonobjective

(adjective) not representing or imitating external reality or the objects of nature; “a large abstract painting”

abstraction, abstract

(noun) a concept or idea not associated with any specific instance; “he loved her only in the abstract--not in person”

outline, synopsis, abstract, precis

(noun) a sketchy summary of the main points of an argument or theory

abstract

(verb) consider a concept without thinking of a specific example; consider abstractly or theoretically

abstract

(verb) consider apart from a particular case or instance; “Let’s abstract away from this particular example”

abstract

(verb) give an abstract (of)

pilfer, cabbage, purloin, pinch, abstract, snarf, swipe, hook, sneak, filch, nobble, lift

(verb) make off with belongings of others

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

abstract (plural abstracts)

An abridgement or summary of a longer publication. [First attested around 1350 to 1470.]

Something that concentrates in itself the qualities of a larger item, or multiple items. [First attested in the mid 16^th century.]

Concentrated essence of a product.

(medicine) A powdered solid extract of a medicinal substance mixed with lactose.

An abstraction; an abstract term; that which is abstract. [First attested in the mid 16^th century.]

The theoretical way of looking at things; something that exists only in idealized form. [First attested in the early 17^th century.]

(arts) An abstract work of art. [First attested in the early 20^th century.]

(real estate) A summary title of the key points detailing a tract of land, for ownership; abstract of title.

Usage notes

• (theoretical way of looking at things): Preceded, typically, by the.

Synonyms

• (statement summarizing the important points of a text): abridgment, compendium, epitome, synopsis

Adjective

abstract (comparative more abstract or abstracter, superlative most abstract or abstractest)

(obsolete) Derived; extracted. [Attested from around 1350 to 1470 until the late 15^th century.]

(now, rare) Drawn away; removed from; apart from; separate. [First attested around 1350 to 1470.]

Not concrete: conceptual, ideal. [First attested around 1350 to 1470.]

Synonyms: conceptual, ideal, imaginary, incorporeal, intangible, nonempirical, theoretical

Antonyms: actual, concrete, corporeal, empirical

Difficult to understand; abstruse; hard to conceptualize. [First attested around 1350 to 1470.]

Synonym: abstruse

Separately expressing a property or attribute of an object that is considered to be inherent to that object: attributive, ascriptive. [First attested around 1350 to 1470.]

Synonyms: attributive, ascriptive

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. [First attested by Locke in 1689.]

Synonyms: general, generalized, generic, nonspecific, representational

Antonyms: discrete, specific, particular, precise

(archaic) Absent-minded. [First attested in the early 16^th century.]

(arts) Pertaining to the formal aspect of art, such as the lines, colors, shapes, and the relationships among them. [First attested in the mid 19^th century.]

(arts, often, capitalized) Free from representational qualities, in particular the non-representational styles of the 20^th century. [First attested in the mid 19^th century.]

(music) Absolute.

(dance) Lacking a story.

Insufficiently factual.

Synonym: formal

Apart from practice or reality; vague; theoretical; impersonal; not applied.

Synonyms: conceptual, theoretical

Antonyms: applied, practical

(grammar) As a noun, denoting an intangible as opposed to an object, place, or person.

(computing) Of a class in object-oriented programming, being a partial basis for subclasses rather than a complete template for objects.

Verb

abstract (third-person singular simple present abstracts, present participle abstracting, simple past and past participle abstracted)

(transitive) To separate; to disengage. [First attested around 1350 to 1470.]

(transitive) To remove; to take away; withdraw. [First attested in the late 15^th century.]

(transitive, euphemistic) To steal; to take away; to remove without permission. [First attested in the late 15^th century.]

(transitive) To summarize; to abridge; to epitomize. [First attested in the late 16^th century.]

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.

(transitive, obsolete) To extract by means of distillation. [Attested from the early 17^th century until the early 18^th century.]

(transitive) To consider abstractly; to contemplate separately or by itself; to consider theoretically; to look at as a general quality. [First attested in the early 17^th century.]

(intransitive, reflexive, literally, figuratively) To withdraw oneself; to retire. [First attested in the mid 17^th century.]

(transitive) To draw off (interest or attention).

(intransitive, rare) To perform the process of abstraction.

(intransitive, fine arts) To create abstractions.

(intransitive, computing) To produce an abstraction, usually by refactoring existing code. Generally used with "out".

Usage notes

• (to separate or disengage): Followed by the word from.

• (to withdraw oneself): Followed by the word from.

• (to summarize): Pronounced predominantly as /ˈæbˌstrækt/.

• All other senses are pronounced as /æbˈstrækt/.

Synonyms

• (to remove, separate, take away, or withdraw): remove, separate, take away, withdraw

• (to abridge, epitomize, or summarize): abridge, epitomize, summarize

• (to filch, purloin, or steal): filch, purloin, steal

Source: Wiktionary

Ab"stract` (#; 277), a. Etym: [L. abstractus, p. p. of abstrahere to draw from, separate; ab, abs + trahere to draw. See Trace.]

1. Withdraw; separate. [Obs.] The more abstract . . . we are from the body. Norris.

2. Considered apart from any application to a particular object; separated from matter; exiting in the mind only; as, abstract truth, abstract numbers. Hence: ideal; abstruse; difficult.

3. (Logic) (a) Expressing a particular property of an object viewed apart from the other properties which constitute it; -- opposed to Ant: concrete; as, honesty is an abstract word. J. S. Mill. (b) Resulting from the mental faculty of abstraction; general as opposed to particular; as, "reptile" is an abstract or general name. Locke. A concrete name is a name which stands for a thing; an abstract name which stands for an attribute of a thing. A practice has grown up in more modern times, which, if not introduced by Locke, has gained currency from his example, of applying the expression "abstract name" to all names which are the result of abstraction and generalization, and consequently to all general names, instead of confining it to the names of attributes. J. S. Mill.

4. Abstracted; absent in mind. "Abstract, as in a trance." Milton. An abstract idea (Metaph.), an idea separated from a complex object, or from other ideas which naturally accompany it; as the solidity of marble when contemplated apart from its color or figure.

– Abstract terms, those which express abstract ideas, as beauty, whiteness, roundness, without regarding any object in which they exist; or abstract terms are the names of orders, genera or species of things, in which there is a combination of similar qualities.

– Abstract numbers (Math.), numbers used without application to things, as 6, 8, 10; but when applied to any thing, as 6 feet, 10 men, they become concrete.

– Abstract or Pure mathematics. See Mathematics.

Ab*stract", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Abstracted; p. pr. & vb. n. Abstracting.] Etym: [See Abstract, a.]

1. To withdraw; to separate; to take away. He was incapable of forming any opinion or resolution abstracted from his own prejudices. Sir W. Scott.

2. To draw off in respect to interest or attention; as, his was wholly abstracted by other objects. The young stranger had been abstracted and silent. Blackw. Mag.

3. To separate, as ideas, by the operation of the mind; to consider by itself; to contemplate separately, as a quality or attribute. Whately.

4. To epitomize; to abridge. Franklin.

5. To take secretly or dishonestly; to purloin; as, to abstract goods from a parcel, or money from a till. Von Rosen had quietly abstracted the bearing-reins from the harness. W. Black.

6. (Chem.)

Definition: To separate, as the more volatile or soluble parts of a substance, by distillation or other chemical processes. In this sense extract is now more generally used.

Ab*stract", v. t.

Definition: To perform the process of abstraction. [R.] I own myself able to abstract in one sense. Berkeley.

Ab"stract`, n. Etym: [See Abstract, a.]

1. That which comprises or concentrates in itself the essential qualities of a larger thing or of several things. Specifically: A summary or an epitome, as of a treatise or book, or of a statement; a brief. An abstract of every treatise he had read. Watts. Man, the abstract Of all perfection, which the workmanship Of Heaven hath modeled. Ford.

2. A state of separation from other things; as, to consider a subject in the abstract, or apart from other associated things.

3. An abstract term. The concretes "father" and "son" have, or might have, the abstracts "paternity" and "filiety." J. S. Mill.

4. (Med.)

Definition: A powdered solid extract of a vegetable substance mixed with sugar of milk in such proportion that one part of the abstract represents two parts of the original substance. Abstract of title (Law), an epitome of the evidences of ownership.

Syn.

– Abridgment; compendium; epitome; synopsis. See Abridgment.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

ABSTRACT

Etymology

Noun

Usage notes

Synonyms

Adjective

Verb

Usage notes

Synonyms

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