Abstract
Pronunciation
Origin 1
From Middle English, from Latin abstractus, perfect passive participle of abstrahÅ ("draw away"), formed from abs- ("away") + trahÅ ("to pull, draw").
Full definition of abstract
Noun
abstract
(plural abstracts)- An abridgement or summary. First attested around 1350 to 1470.
- Isaac Watts — An abstract of every treatise he had read.
- Something that concentrates in itself the qualities of larger item, or multiple items. First attested in the mid 16th century.
- Ford — Man, the abstract Of all perfection, which the workmanship Of Heaven hath modeled.
- An abstraction; an abstract term; that which is abstract. First attested in the mid 16th century.
- John Stuart Mill — The concretes "father" and "son" have, or might have, the abstracts "paternity" and "filiety".
- The theoretical way of looking at things; something that exists only in idealized form. First attested in the early 17th century.
- (arts) An abstract work of art. First attested in the early 20th 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
Derived terms
Adjective
abstract
- (obsolete) Derived; extracted. Attested from around 1350 to 1470 until the late 15th century.
- (now rare) Drawn away; removed from; apart from; separate. First attested around 1350 to 1470.
- 17th century, John Norris, The Oxford Dictionary:The more abstract we are from the body ... the more fit we shall be to behold divine light.
- Expressing a property or attribute separately of an object that is considered to be inherent to that object. First attested around 1350 to 1470.
- Considered apart from any application to a particular object; not concrete; ideal; non-specific; general, as opposed to specific. First attested around 1350 to 1470.
- John Stuart Mill - 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.
- Difficult to understand; abstruse; hard to conceptualize. First attested around 1350 to 1470.
- (archaic) Absent-minded. First attested in the early 16th century.
- Miltonabstract, as in a trance
- 1922, D. H. Lawrence, White and abstract-looking, he sat and ate his dinner.
- (arts) Pertaining to the formal aspect of art, such as the lines, colors, shapes, and the relationships among them. First attested in the mid 19th century.
- (arts, often capitalized) Free from representational qualities, in particular the non-representational styles of the 20th century.
- (music) Absolute.
- (dance) Lacking a story.
- Insufficiently factual.
- Apart from practice or reality; vague; theoretical; impersonal; not applied.
- (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.
Synonyms
- (not applied or practical) conceptual, theoretical
- (insufficiently factual) formal
- (difficult to understand) abstruse
Antonyms
Pronunciation
- RP IPA: /ˈæb.strækt/
- (to summarize) RP IPA: /ˈæbˌstrækt/
- US IPA: /ˈæb.strækt/, enPR: ăb"străkt'
- (to summarize) US IPA: /ˈæbˌstrækt/
Origin 2
First attested in 1542. Partly from English abstract (adjective form), and from Latin abstrat past participle of abstrahÅ ("to draw away").
Verb
- (transitive) To separate; to disengage. First attested around 1350 to 1470.
- Walter Scott - He was incapable of forming any opinion or resolution abstracted from his own prejudices.
- (transitive) To remove; to take away; withdraw. First attested in the late 15th century.
- 1834, Harriet Martineau, Illustration of Political Economy, The lightning of the public burdens, which at present abstract a large proportion of profits and wages.
- Sir Walter ScottHe was incapable of forming any opinion or resolution abstracted from his own prejudices.
- (transitive, euphemistic) To steal; to take away; to remove without permission. First attested in the late 15th century.
- W. Black - Von Rosen had quietly abstracted the bearing-reins from the harness.
- (transitive) To summarize; to abridge; to epitomize. First attested in the late 16th century.
- (transitive, obsolete) To extract by means of distillation. Attested from the early 17th century until the early 18th century.
- 1601, Antonio's Revenge, Poison from roses who could e'er abstract?
- (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 17th century.
- 1781, Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, To abstract the notions of time, of space, and of matter.
- (intransitive, reflexive, literally figuratively) To withdraw oneself; to retire. First attested in the mid 17th century.
- (transitive) To draw off (interest or attention).
- William Blackwood, Blackwood's Magazine - The young stranger had been abstracted and silent.
- He was wholly abstracted by other objects.
- (intransitive, rare) To perform the process of abstraction.
- George Berkeley - I own myself able to abstract in one sense.
- (intransitive, fine arts) To create abstractions.
- (intransitive, computing) To produce an abstraction, usually by refactoring existing code. Generally used with "out".He abstracted out the square root function.
Usage notes
(to separate or disengage) Followed by the word from.
(to withdraw oneself) Followed by the word from.
(to summarize) Pronounced predominately as /ˈæbˌstrækt/.
All other senses are pronounced as /æbˈstrækt/.