abstraction

noun

ab·​strac·​tion ab-ˈstrak-shən 

əb-

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

abstractional

ab-ˈstrak-sh(ə-)nəl 

əb-

adjective

abstractive

ab-ˈstrak-tiv 

ˈab-ˌstrak-

adjective

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.

Synonyms of abstraction

• idea
• concept
• conception
• notion
• thought
• impression

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

But either ironically or all too appropriately for a show that so prominently features therapists, The Audacity seems to have psychoanalyzed its characters to the point of abstraction. —Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 10 Apr. 2026

The Bernsteins have also gifted works to museums such as the Art Institute of Chicago, whose contemporary art galleries feature a standout Jo Baer abstraction from 1964–65 that was acquired in the ’80s. —Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 9 Apr. 2026

Branding and marketing executives have always loved nothing more than seizing the latest, abstraction that can somehow bend the ever-changing Zeitgeist to their favor and tell a tale, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. —Bruce Stockler, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2026

The dilemma, in the hands of these novelists, is not only an abstraction but a central element of the plot and structure of their books. —Aaron Matz, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for abstraction

• attraction
• compaction
• contraction
• detraction
• diffraction
• distraction
• exaction
• extraction
• impaction
• inaction
• infraction
• olfaction

Kids Definition

abstraction

noun

ab·​strac·​tion ab-ˈstrak-shən 

1

a

: the act or process of abstracting : the state of being abstracted

b

: an abstract idea or term

2

: an artistic composition or creation having designs that do not represent actual objects

abstractive

-ˈstrak-tiv 

adjective