Princeton's WordNet(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. abstraction, abstract(noun)

   a concept or idea not associated with any specific instance

   "he loved her only in the abstract--not in person"

2. outline, synopsis, abstract, precis(adj)

   a sketchy summary of the main points of an argument or theory

3. abstract(adj)

   existing only in the mind; separated from embodiment

   "abstract words like `truth' and `justice'"

4. abstract, abstractionist, nonfigurative, nonobjective(adj)

   not representing or imitating external reality or the objects of nature

   "a large abstract painting"

5. abstract(verb)

   dealing with a subject in the abstract without practical purpose or intention

   "abstract reasoning"; "abstract science"

6. abstract(verb)

   consider a concept without thinking of a specific example; consider abstractly or theoretically

7. pilfer, cabbage, purloin, pinch, abstract, snarf, swipe, hook, sneak, filch, nobble, lift(verb)

   make off with belongings of others

8. abstract(verb)

   consider apart from a particular case or instance

   "Let's abstract away from this particular example"

9. abstract(verb)

   give an abstract (of)

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Abstract(adj)

   withdraw; separate

2. Abstract(adj)

   considered apart from any application to a particular object; separated from matter; existing in the mind only; as, abstract truth, abstract numbers. Hence: ideal; abstruse; difficult

3. Abstract(adj)

   expressing a particular property of an object viewed apart from the other properties which constitute it; -- opposed to concrete; as, honesty is an abstract word

4. Abstract(adj)

   resulting from the mental faculty of abstraction; general as opposed to particular; as, "reptile" is an abstract or general name

5. Abstract(adj)

   abstracted; absent in mind

6. Abstract(adj)

   to withdraw; to separate; to take away

7. Abstract(adj)

   to draw off in respect to interest or attention; as, his was wholly abstracted by other objects

8. Abstract(adj)

   to separate, as ideas, by the operation of the mind; to consider by itself; to contemplate separately, as a quality or attribute

9. Abstract(adj)

   to epitomize; to abridge

10. Abstract(adj)

    to take secretly or dishonestly; to purloin; as, to abstract goods from a parcel, or money from a till

11. Abstract(adj)

    to separate, as the more volatile or soluble parts of a substance, by distillation or other chemical processes. In this sense extract is now more generally used

12. Abstract(verb)

    to perform the process of abstraction

13. Abstract(adj)

    that which comprises or concentrates in itself the essential qualities of a larger thing or of several things. Specifically: A summary or an epitome, as of a treatise or book, or of a statement; a brief

14. Abstract(adj)

    a state of separation from other things; as, to consider a subject in the abstract, or apart from other associated things

15. Abstract(adj)

    an abstract term

16. Abstract(adj)

    a powdered solid extract of a vegetable substance mixed with sugar of milk in such proportion that one part of the abstract represents two parts of the original substance

Origin: [See Abstract, a.]

Freebase(3.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Abstract

   An abstract is a brief summary of a research article, thesis, review, conference proceeding or any in-depth analysis of a particular subject or discipline, and is often used to help the reader quickly ascertain the paper's purpose. When used, an abstract always appears at the beginning of a manuscript or typescript, acting as the point-of-entry for any given academic paper or patent application. Abstracting and indexing services for various academic disciplines are aimed at compiling a body of literature for that particular subject. The terms précis or synopsis are used in some publications to refer to the same thing that other publications might call an "abstract". In management reports, an executive summary usually contains more information than the abstract does.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Abstract

   abs-trakt′, v.t. to draw away: to separate: to purloin.—adj. Abstract′ed, drawn off (with from): removed: absent in mind.—adv. Abstract′edly.—ns. Abstract′edness; Abstrac′tion, act of abstracting: state of being abstracted: absence of mind: the operation of the mind by which certain qualities or attributes of an object are considered apart from the rest: a purloining.—adj. Abstract′ive, having the power of abstracting.—n. anything abstractive: an abstract.—adv. Abs′tractly.—n. Abs′tractness. [L. abs, away from, trahĕre, tractum, to draw. See Trace.]

2. Abstract

   abs′trakt, adj. general, as opposed to particular or individual (the opposite of abstract is concrete—a red colour is an abstract notion, a red rose is a concrete notion; an abstract noun is the name of a quality apart from the thing, as redness).—n. summary: abridgment: essence. [L. abstractus, as if a quality common to a number of things were drawn away from the things and considered by itself.]

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'abstract' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #4596

2. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'abstract' in Adjectives Frequency: #624

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of abstract in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of abstract in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Sample Sentences & Example Usage

1. Guillem Valle:

   It's abstract, the concept of nations has always been malleable.

2. Helen Keller:

   There is plenty of courage among us for the abstract, but not for the concrete.

3. Newt Gingrich:

   I'm not a natural leader. I'm too intellectual I'm too abstract I think too much.

4. Epicurus:

   There is no such thing as justice in the abstract; it is merely a compact between men

5. Al Capp:

   Abstract art: a product of the untalented sold by the unprincipled to the utterly bewildered.

Images & Illustrations of abstract

Popularity rank by frequency of use