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
To address this challenge, Codesphere was designed as an abstraction layer that operates on top of any infrastructure—whether AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, or an on-premise server—allowing businesses to work across multiple environments without being locked into one vendor.
—
Jason Phillips, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2025
These unofficial remixes, uploaded from unremarkable accounts, create a kind of Satie-esque audio overdose, pounding the band’s melody into abstraction, pure stimulus.
—Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 27 Aug. 2025
Messaging must make distinctions, but also avoid getting lost in parenthetic abstractions or potentially easier-to-discredit targets.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2025
While Mars itself is the subject of fascination and rabid speculation, Martians, as a species and concept, remain mostly an abstraction.
—David Kamp, Air Mail, 23 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for abstraction
Jason Phillips, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2025
These unofficial remixes, uploaded from unremarkable accounts, create a kind of Satie-esque audio overdose, pounding the band’s melody into abstraction, pure stimulus.
—Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 27 Aug. 2025
Messaging must make distinctions, but also avoid getting lost in parenthetic abstractions or potentially easier-to-discredit targets.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2025
While Mars itself is the subject of fascination and rabid speculation, Martians, as a species and concept, remain mostly an abstraction.
—David Kamp, Air Mail, 23 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for abstraction
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abstraction
Noun
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As a public institution, UVU upholds First Amendment rights and fosters an environment where ideas – popular or controversial – can be exchanged freely, energetically, and civilly.—
Bill Hutchinson,
ABC News,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Some ideas came from experience.—
Sophie Carson,
jsonline.com,
14 Sep. 2025
Noun
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In 2020, however, Biglari’s criticism of Cracker Barrel was reignited after the company’s $133 million investment in Punch Bowl Social, a bar and entertainment concept, in 2019, failed during the pandemic.—
Lily Mae Lazarus,
Fortune,
18 Sep. 2025
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In his new concept, Metropolis, located at the World Trade Center campus, his team is made up entirely of women of color in leadership roles.—
Janee Bolden,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
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This disastrously cramped conception of who gets to have a day in court would be the main target of my outrage if the court’s opinion on the use of ethnicity, language and workplace as factors in immigration enforcement weren’t even more upsetting.—
Noah Feldman,
Mercury News,
10 Sep. 2025
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Political theorist Antonio Gramsci (1891–1937), an Italian anti-fascist journalist, organizer, and imprisoned political dissident, offered a conception of society and described the possibilities for changing social orders.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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But these teachings challenge any notion of hoarding resources for oneself—or one’s precious group—at the expense of others in need.—
John Fugelsang
September 12,
Literary Hub,
12 Sep. 2025
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But the notion that the president himself is the leader of Tren de Aragua is a bit of stretch, according to Ronna Rísquez, the author of the book El Tren de Aragua.—
Gisela Salim-Peyer,
The Atlantic,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Here, though, the research team is trying to model people’s thoughts on financial policy, which is why the enumerated outcomes include initial rate recommendations, made up of a preferred policy rate, a confidence score, and a summary.—
John Werner,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
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Lauren, 40, then chimed in with her own thoughts on what makes their relationship work after all these years.—
Toria Sheffield,
PEOPLE,
14 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Still, that didn’t dull the impression left on a young Vitale.—
Mahoro Seward,
Vogue,
16 Sep. 2025
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Fat Bear Week, reaching 1 million voters online and hundreds of millions of impressions collectively through print, TV and online media, is a striking example of how digital platforms can amplify conservation awareness far beyond the park’s borders.—
Emese Maczko,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Abstraction.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abstraction. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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