abstract
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.existing as an idea or feeling rather than a physical object you can touch.
adj.relating to or denoting ideas, concepts, or qualities rather than concrete physical objects.
Simple“Truth and justice are abstract ideas that people have debated for centuries.”
In context“The philosopher struggled to ground his abstract theories in the messy realities of daily political life.”
Synonyms - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.a style of art that uses shapes and colours instead of showing real people or places.
adj.denoting a style of art that does not attempt to represent external reality, but seeks to achieve its effect using shapes, forms, colours, and textures.
Simple“The museum has a large collection of abstract paintings from the 1950s.”
In context“Kandinsky is often credited with creating the first purely abstract works, moving away from recognisable subjects entirely.”
Synonymsnon objectivenon representationalAntonymsfigurativerepresentational - 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a short piece of writing that gives the main points of a longer report or speech.
n.a brief summary of the chief points of a larger work, such as a scholarly article, thesis, or legal document.
Simple“I read the abstract of the research paper to see if it was relevant to my project.”
In context“The conference organisers require a three-hundred-word abstract before they will consider your proposal for a presentation.”
- 04 C1 Advanced
v.to remove something from a larger group or to think about it separately.
v.to consider something theoretically or separately from its physical context; to extract or remove.
Simple“It is difficult to abstract the data from the original report without losing context.”
In context“The researcher attempted to abstract the general principles of linguistics from the specific dialects spoken in the valley.”
UsageOften used with the preposition 'from'.
- 05 C2 Proficiency
v.to write a short summary of a long document.
v.to create a summary or abridgement of a text.
Simple“The clerk was asked to abstract the legal documents for the judge.”
In context“The intern spent the afternoon abstracting several lengthy medical journals for the department's monthly newsletter.”
Usage abstract concept · abstract form · abstract representation
“When a rangeland fails, it isn't an abstract environmental loss.”
“Collecting and shaping an elephant bone fragment and then using it on multiple occasions to shape and sharpen stone tools shows an advanced level of complex thinking and abstract thought.”
From Middle English abstract, borrowed from Latin abstractus, perfect passive participle of abstrahō (“draw away”), formed from abs- (“away”) + trahō (“to pull, draw”). The verbal sense is first attested in 1542.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.