abstract
Forms
- Plural
- abstracts
- Comparative
- more abstract
- Superlative
- most abstract
Definitions
1.An abridgement or summary of a longer publication.
- An analysis and abstract of every treatise he had read.
2.Something that concentrates in itself the qualities of a larger item, or multiple items.
3.The theoretical way of looking at things; something that exists only in idealized form.
4.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.
1.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.
2.Difficult to understand; abstruse; hard to conceptualize.
- Abstract words such as glory, honour, courage, or hallow were obscene.
- The politician gave a somewhat abstract answer when asked about their plans to cut spending.
3.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..
4.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.
Frequency
Overall
Rare· #4502
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Rare
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Etymology
From Middle English abstract, borrowed from Latin abstractus, perfect passive participle of abstrahō (“draw away”), formed from abs- (“away”) + trahō (“to pull, draw”).
The verbal sense is first attested in 1542.