abstraction

noun

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ab·strac·tion | \ ab-ˈstrak-shən

, əb- \

Definition of abstraction

1a : 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

4a : an abstract composition or creation in art

b : abstractionism

Other Words from abstraction Synonyms Did You Know? Example Sentences Learn More about abstraction

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Did You Know?

From its roots, abstraction should mean basically "something pulled or drawn away". So abstract art is art that has moved away from painting objects of the ordinary physical world in order to show something beyond it. Theories are often abstractions; so a theory about economics, for instance, may "pull back" to take a broad view that somehow explains all of economics (but maybe doesn't end up explaining any of it very successfully). An abstract of a medical or scientific article is a one-paragraph summary of its contents—that is, the basic findings "pulled out" of the article.

Examples of abstraction in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web The two may seem like opposites — 1920s Spanish baroque and punchy Day-Glo abstraction — but each is happy to put on a show. — John King, SFChronicle.com, "Oakland’s new housing towers: So-so on the skyline, but one soars on the street," 6 Jan. 2020 In both situations — whether starting or stopping habits — designing for specific behaviors (instead of abstractions) is essential. — Popular Science, "Reverse your bad habits with just a handful of tiny changes," 31 Dec. 2019 The Nabis stopped short, however, of total abstraction. — Washington Post, "These painters found calm in an age of distraction — more than a century ago," 23 Dec. 2019 The story of modernism – the progressive series of movements and revolutions in representation and abstraction that started in the mid 19th century – turns out to be far richer and more complex in the new MoMa than the old one ever suggested. — Steven Litt, cleveland, "Don’t let crowds deter you from visiting the expanded Museum of Modern Art in New York," 24 Nov. 2019 In the fine arts, conceptualism overtook both figurative work and abstraction in the 20th century, giving the idea of a creative work more weight than its aesthetic or representational properties. — Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, "Video Games Are Better Without Game-Play," 22 Oct. 2019 To explore the topic, with all its challenges and abstractions, is to embrace the universe’s greatness, to make sense of the real and explore the mysterious, to dip our toes in the infinite and recognize that many of our limits are self-imposed. — Ephrat Livni, Quartz, "Two new books will transform your everyday understanding of math," 17 June 2019 But the broken freezer on top of the world has remained an abstraction for most of the planet’s 7.7 billion people. — Anchorage Daily News, "Sea ice experts from Nome and Unalakleet share what they’re seeing with scientists," 14 Dec. 2019 The participants, all based in Washington, both draw from and defy the principles of mid-20th-century abstraction. — Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, "In the galleries: ‘Sea of Change’ exhibition sets the voyage on a different course," 6 Dec. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'abstraction.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for abstraction

borrowed from Middle French & Late Latin; Middle French, "abduction (of a woman), removal, extraction (of a foreign body from a wound), (in philosophy) process by which the mind is able to form universal representations of the properties of distinct objects," borrowed from Late Latin abstractiōn-, abstractiō, from Latin abstrac- (variant stem of abstrahere "to remove forcibly") + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of action nouns — more at abstract entry 1

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