as in notions
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 abstractions
The killing of Renee Good demands more than reassurances and legal abstractions or thoughts and prayers.
—
Yohuru Williams, Mercury News, 21 Jan. 2026
Figures press against one another geographically, and against the polite abstractions of mid-century modernism.
—Skylar Mitchell, Essence, 18 Dec. 2025
The paintings are serious works of deliberate construction which read satisfactorily as abstractions not unrelated to the work of Caio Fonseca.
—Erin Parish, Miami Herald, 5 Dec. 2025
Thorough audit of old architecture, gradual migration of key components, facades, abstractions to avoid breaking everything at once.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 5 Dec. 2025
Unemployment was spreading across Europe and fascism was on the rise, but these were distant abstractions.
—Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
Safely inside the Park Avenue entrance are two giant-economy-size Gerhard Richter abstractions in metallic paint.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 12 Nov. 2025
This is because logic thinks in equations, which is another way of saying identities; and also because logic thinks in abstractions, which is another way of saying commonalities.
—Big Think, 3 Nov. 2025
Generations of creatives have been inspired by African tribal art, from Pablo Picasso’s stylized abstractions to Amedeo Modigliani’s masklike portraits.
—Jill Newman, Robb Report, 19 Oct. 2025
Yohuru Williams, Mercury News, 21 Jan. 2026
Figures press against one another geographically, and against the polite abstractions of mid-century modernism.
—Skylar Mitchell, Essence, 18 Dec. 2025
The paintings are serious works of deliberate construction which read satisfactorily as abstractions not unrelated to the work of Caio Fonseca.
—Erin Parish, Miami Herald, 5 Dec. 2025
Thorough audit of old architecture, gradual migration of key components, facades, abstractions to avoid breaking everything at once.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 5 Dec. 2025
Unemployment was spreading across Europe and fascism was on the rise, but these were distant abstractions.
—Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
Safely inside the Park Avenue entrance are two giant-economy-size Gerhard Richter abstractions in metallic paint.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 12 Nov. 2025
This is because logic thinks in equations, which is another way of saying identities; and also because logic thinks in abstractions, which is another way of saying commonalities.
—Big Think, 3 Nov. 2025
Generations of creatives have been inspired by African tribal art, from Pablo Picasso’s stylized abstractions to Amedeo Modigliani’s masklike portraits.
—Jill Newman, Robb Report, 19 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abstractions
Noun
-
There is also the eternal question of whether designers should create clothes for truly living in, or whether they should be encouraged to think big and present more complicated pieces that challenge everyday notions of style and taste.—
Kati Chitrakorn,
CNN Money,
26 Jan. 2026
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Online, some drew parallels between the heartwrenching moment, which muddies up notions of consent, to an earlier scene in the series, where Carol reveals her mother sent her to conversion therapy camp.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
25 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Google says Nano Banana can help redesign a living room, turn charts into infographics, or generate visual ideas for creative projects.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Effective Surveying—knowing where to look for successful ideas—requires balancing convention with novelty.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Those covers may imply genres, but better book covers are based on concepts that reflect the content of the book and signal it to the consumer.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Feb. 2026
-
These early concepts were blown away in the next decade, when the original Elite was released in 1984.—
Alan Bradley,
Space.com,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Want to stay up to date on IndieWire’s film reviews and critical thoughts?—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
31 Jan. 2026
-
She was shattered by thoughts of all the father-and-son moments Carlos and Alessandro had missed — things like girlfriend issues.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Farrell and Kidman are outstanding, even as Lanthimos' ritualistic plotting and direction keep them hemmed into their characters' rigid conceptions.—
Dennis Perkins,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Oct. 2025
-
So this was quite a departure from traditional conceptions of the subject.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
There’s been a couple of fun AI pictures.—
Yvonne Villarreal,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Posters of rock bands were replaced with pictures of Serbian saints and stately World War I generals.—
Aleksandar Hemon,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Last year, Newsom’s personal social-media accounts gained more than five million new followers, and clocked billions of views and impressions.—
Nathan Heller,
New Yorker,
1 Feb. 2026
-
O’Hara became known not only for her impressions of celebrities, including Meryl Streep and Brooke Shields, but also for original characters that became fan favorites.—
Victoria Edel,
PEOPLE,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Abstractions.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abstractions. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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