as in idea
something imagined or pictured in the mind
to a people who have lived under one dictatorship after another, democracy and freedom are mere abstractions
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Recent Examples of abstraction
For Caldwell, weighing the risks of his work has always felt more like a mental abstraction, an algorithm of constantly shifting variables, than an instinctive act of self-preservation.
—
Namir Khaliq, Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026
Being and Time teaches the discipline of confronting one’s own finitude – death not as abstraction but as the horizon that makes life meaningful.
—The Week Uk, TheWeek, 27 Mar. 2026
Bourbaki prioritized abstraction over all else, eschewing concrete examples and calculations in favor of only the most general statements.
—Leila Sloman, Quanta Magazine, 25 Mar. 2026
One of Lerner’s virtues as a writer is that his work resists this relentless gathering of data (news, text messages, posts), a gathering that’s both abundant and diffuse, and that, paradoxically, feels like a giving over of one’s mind and capacities to fuzzy abstraction.
—Hannah Gold, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for abstraction
Namir Khaliq, Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026
Being and Time teaches the discipline of confronting one’s own finitude – death not as abstraction but as the horizon that makes life meaningful.
—The Week Uk, TheWeek, 27 Mar. 2026
Bourbaki prioritized abstraction over all else, eschewing concrete examples and calculations in favor of only the most general statements.
—Leila Sloman, Quanta Magazine, 25 Mar. 2026
One of Lerner’s virtues as a writer is that his work resists this relentless gathering of data (news, text messages, posts), a gathering that’s both abundant and diffuse, and that, paradoxically, feels like a giving over of one’s mind and capacities to fuzzy abstraction.
—Hannah Gold, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for abstraction
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abstraction
Noun
-
Artists Joshua Flores and Giesi Amaya integrated those ideas into the final product.—
Victoria Le,
Oc Register,
4 Apr. 2026
-
On the night Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis came to see our play, the actor playing Ice had an idea.—
Jeffrey Eugenides,
New Yorker,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
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There was experimental literature in which the role of the author could be tweaked; in popular fiction, authorship could be a flexible concept.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
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The concept behind the design pays homage to a longtime Davis tradition.—
Brady Halbleib,
CBS News,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
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So far, just one uncrewed Artemis mission, launched in 2022, has been completed since the program's conception nine years ago – though a mission known as Artemis 2 could be weeks away.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
1 Apr. 2026
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Like Kast, Schoenstatt emphasizes the protection of life from conception to natural death.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The notion of compliance as an interconnected system aligns with broader trends in risk management.—
Connie Etemadi,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2026
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In the immediate aftermath of the tornadoes, Whitmer's office asked for an investigation into why the National Weather Service hadn't issued a tornado watch ahead of the storms, hinting at the notion that federal budget cutbacks at the National Weather Service may have had an impact.—
Eric Henderson,
CBS News,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The brain bug's intrinsic ick factor is undeniably high, but using their proboscises to suck thoughts directly from the brains of their unfortunate victims is a pretty neat party trick.—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
2 Apr. 2026
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Peet did also have thoughts on how to expand upon her character’s growth and the nature of her burgeoning relationship with Sam.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Moody and sleek, the Ritz-Carlton, Nomad is also designed to make an impression—and not just because of its 50-story sway.—
Arati Menon,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Mar. 2026
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But visually the scorebug will take some getting used to, and its first impression on Thursday was not good.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
29 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Abstraction.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abstraction. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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