What does "abstraction" mean?
The act of abstracting, separating, withdrawing, or taking away; withdrawal; the state of being taken away.
Abstraction
/əbˈstɹæk.ʃn̩/ noun
noun ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The act of abstracting, separating, withdrawing, or taking away; withdrawal; the state of being taken away.
- Grammar: abstraction is listed as noun.
- Nearest alternatives: generalization, abduction, ablation, abrasion.
- Useful contrasts: concrete reality, specific example, tangible physicality.
- Usage evidence: The integration of our global economy has made life better for billions of men, women and children. Over the last 25 years, the number of people living in extreme poverty has been cut from nearly 40 percent of humanity to under 10 percent. That's unprecedented. And it's not an abstraction. It means children have enough to eat; mothers don’t die in childbirth.
How to use "abstraction"
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- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "abstraction" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
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- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "abstraction" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "abstraction" as the right word for your sentence.
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "abstraction" is acting as noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "generalization" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
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When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The act of abstracting, separating, withdrawing, or taking away; withdrawal; the state of being taken away. countable, uncountable
"The cancelling of the debt would be no destruction of wealth, but a transfer of it: a wrongful abstraction of wealth from certain members of the community, for the profit of the government, or of the tax-payers."
- 2 a general concept formed by extracting common features from specific examples wordnet
- 3 The act of abstracting, separating, withdrawing, or taking away; withdrawal; the state of being taken away.; The taking surreptitiously for one's own use part of the property of another; purloining. countable, euphemistic, uncountable
- 4 the act of withdrawing or removing something wordnet
- 5 The act of abstracting, separating, withdrawing, or taking away; withdrawal; the state of being taken away.; Removal of water from a river, lake, or aquifer. countable, uncountable
Show 17 more definitions
- 6 an abstract painting wordnet
- 7 A separation from worldly objects; a recluse life; the withdrawal from one's senses. countable, uncountable
"a hermit’s abstraction"
- 8 preoccupation with something to the exclusion of all else wordnet
- 9 The act of focusing on one characteristic of an object rather than the object as a whole group of characteristics; the act of separating said qualities from the object or ideas. countable, uncountable
"Holonym: induction"
- 10 the process of formulating general concepts by abstracting common properties of instances wordnet
- 11 Any characteristic of an individual object when that characteristic has been separated from the object and is contemplated alone as a quality having independent existence. countable, uncountable
- 12 a concept or idea not associated with any specific instance wordnet
- 13 A member of an idealized subgroup when contemplated according to the abstracted quality which defines the subgroup. countable, uncountable
- 14 The act of comparing commonality between distinct objects and organizing using those similarities; the act of generalizing characteristics; the product of said generalization. countable, uncountable
- 15 An idea or notion of an abstract or theoretical nature. countable, uncountable
"to fight for mere abstractions"
- 16 Absence or absorption of mind; inattention to present objects; preoccupation. countable, uncountable
""One penny, sir!" He was roused at once from his abstraction; for it was a question to himself whether he had even that in his pocket. Sixpence was, however, discovered; he paid the toll, and passed on."
- 17 An abstract creation, or piece of art; qualities of artwork that are free from representational aspects. countable, uncountable
"At one point, her spidery abstractions gave way to a series of abruptly syncopated hits, like a deranged allusion to the Thelonious Monk tune “Evidence.”"
- 18 A separation of volatile parts by the act of distillation. countable, uncountable
- 19 An idea of an idealistic, unrealistic or visionary nature. countable, uncountable
- 20 The result of mentally abstracting an idea; the product of any mental process involving a synthesis of: separation, despecification, generalization, and ideation in any of a number of combinations. countable, uncountable
- 21 The merging of two river valleys by the larger of the two deepening and widening so much so, as to assimilate the smaller. countable, uncountable
- 22 Hiding implementation details from the interface of a component, to decrease complexity through interdependency and improve modularity; a construct that serves as such. countable, uncountable
"Files are an abstraction provided by the file system for storing data, so that applications do not have to care how that data is stored."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
concrete realityspecific exampletangible physicalityunspecified topic
Example
"The integration of our global economy has made life better for billions of men, women and children. Over the last 25 years, the number of people living in extreme poverty has been cut from nearly 40 percent of humanity to under 10 percent. That's unprecedented. And it's not an abstraction. It means children have enough to eat; mothers don’t die in childbirth."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "abstraction"?
Common synonyms include: generalization, abduction, ablation, abrasion, absence of mind, absentmindedness.
How do you use "abstraction" in a sentence?
The integration of our global economy has made life better for billions of men, women and children. Over the last 25 years, the number of people living in extreme poverty has been cut from nearly 40 percent of humanity to under 10 percent. That's unprecedented. And it's not an abstraction. It means children have enough to eat; mothers don’t die in childbirth.
How do you pronounce "abstraction"?
Pronounced /əbˈstɹæk.ʃn̩/.
Etymology
From Middle English abstraccyone; either from Middle French abstraction or from Medieval Latin abstrāctiō (“separation”), from Latin abstrahō (“draw away”). Equivalent to abstract + -ion.