abstraction

ab·strac·tion

noun \ab-ˈstrak-shən, əb-\

: the act of obtaining or removing something from a source : the act of abstracting something

: a general idea or quality rather than an actual person, object, or event : an abstract idea or quality

: the state of someone who is not paying attention to what is happening or being said : an abstracted state

Full Definition of ABSTRACTION

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

— ab·strac·tion·al \-shnəl, -shə-n^əl\ adjective

— ab·strac·tive \ab-ˈstrak-tiv, ˈab-ˌ\ adjective

Examples of ABSTRACTION

1. abstraction of data from hospital records
2. “Beauty” and “truth” are abstractions.
3. She gazed out the window in abstraction.

First Known Use of ABSTRACTION

1549

Related to ABSTRACTION

Synonyms

idea, cogitation, concept, conception, image, impression, intellection, mind's eye, notion, picture, thought

Related Words

apprehension, premonition, presentiment; preconception, prejudice, prepossession; chimera, delusion, hallucination, illusion, phantasm (also fantasm); caprice, conceit, fancy, freak, kink, vagary, whim; cognition, observation, perception, reflection; assumption, belief, conclusion, conviction; conjecture, guess, hunch, hypothesis, speculation, supposition, surmise, theory; brainchild, brainstorm, brain wave, inspiration

Near Antonyms

actuality, fact, reality

Rhymes with ABSTRACTION

attraction, bolt-action, class action, compaction, contraction, cross action, detraction, diffraction, distraction, exaction, extraction, impaction, inaction, infraction, job action, live-action, olfaction, protraction, reaction, redaction, refraction, retraction, stop-action, subtraction, transaction