Definition of abstractnext
1
as in to distract
to draw the attention or mind to something else personal problems abstracted him so persistently that he struggled to keep his mind on his work

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of abstract
Adjective
Then get creative with abstract lines using a darker brown polish to mimic the swirling patterns of coffee. — Kara Jillian Brown, InStyle, 18 Sep. 2026 For those of us who grew up as women in Iran, the compulsory wearing of a hijab has never been an abstract political issue. — Pegah Banihashemi, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2026
Noun
The research is an abstract that hasn’t yet been peer-reviewed or published in a journal, but was presented in May at Digestive Disease Week, a prestigious annual meeting for professionals in gastroenterology, hepatology and related fields. — Kristen Rogers, CNN Money, 8 June 2026 The potential of McDavid and Matthews becoming available is a concept that still very much exists in the abstract. — Dane Mizutani, Twin Cities, 5 June 2026
Verb
Beginning in the eighteen-nineties, Karl Blossfeldt took closeups of plants abstracted from their environments, making visible the art of their natural curlicues and reticulations. — Max Norman, New Yorker, 21 May 2026 For The Landing Daybed, Torres abstracted the catenary curves of bridge suspension cables for the arched legs. — Diana Budds, Architectural Digest, 20 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for abstract
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abstract
Adjective
  • In fact, the ability to see the curve from 25 meters away may only hold in perfect theoretical conditions—such as a single high-contrast line on a two-dimensional surface.
    — Emma Gometz, Scientific American, 22 Sep. 2026
  • This lowers the cost of the trade and increases the position's theoretical probability of profit to ~56%.
    — Julia Spina, CNBC, 22 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • Inevitably, much of that knowledge was still undigested and poorly sorted; as a result the planet, viewed from Europe, must have seemed a rather impressionistic and formless place.
    — Ian Tattersall, The New York Review of Books, 19 Sep. 2026
  • As Pattinson spends a long night trying to rescue his brother, the Safdies weave a nightmarish, impressionistic vision of New York that ranks among the most unsettling cinematic depictions of the city.
    — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Plot summary Severance’s protagonist, Mark Scout (Adam Scott), is a former history professor who opted for the severance procedure to escape his intense grief after the sudden death of his wife, Gemma (Dichen Lachman).
    — Jordana Rosenfeld, Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Sep. 2026
  • The records acquired by the Sentinel and Sun Sentinel expand and detail the broad findings in an executive summary of the report, which was first obtained by the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times in 2025.
    — Skyler Swisher, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • The 1905 law explicitly mentions religious ceremonies, processions and other outdoor manifestations as subject to the ordinary rules governing public order.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Beale, his hands on his hips, turned to face Sigcho-Lopez in the latest manifestation of the bad blood underpinning the council’s deep philosophical divisions.
    — Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 23 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Levi argues that the Blast files were deliberately compromised to distract from their contents.
    — Ruth Margalit, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2026
  • My parents were tense and distracted while my siblings were scared.
    — Lizz Schumer, PEOPLE, 19 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • If everyone summarizes the same earnings call with similar models and reaches the same conclusion, speed to consensus is an efficiency gain, but consensus is the opposite of edge.
    — Mamadou-Abou Sarr, Forbes.com, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Yet Marcon’s works defy old-world tempos with their pacing (the shots in Monelle, 2017, last no more than a second each), their length (several clock in at under five minutes), and, of course, the seeming ease with which they can be summarized.
    — Matthew McLean, Artforum, 22 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • Lee’s lines have the intimacy and metaphysical heft of prayer; their elegant recursions and repetitions call to mind the cycles of life, death, and rebirth.
    — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Dürrenmatt is more focused on moral than metaphysical questions.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • Founded in 1960 and renovated in the 2010s, the museum in the south of France celebrates the work of Pierre-Auguste Renoir, an impressionist painter who died in 1919.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 Sep. 2026
  • The exhibit of impressionist Vincent Van Gogh’s work combined moving images and music.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 3 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Abstract.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abstract. Accessed 28 Sep. 2026.

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